Life For Rent
by ArwenUndomiel
Summary: [AU Set in Season 8] Mac and Harm head to Australia to investigate the murder of an Australia Army Major. CHAPTER EIGHT: Broken Glass.
1. Working Late

**_ Author's Note: _**_ Just want to say that story is very much AU. Sorry if that isn't your cup of tea (or whatever) but I can't help that part of the story. In Australia JAG has not been broadcast on Free To Air TV for over 6 months. This means that unfortunately us Aussie are stuck rather unhappily in Season 8 (The last episode aired was All 'Ye Faithful). I have put many months of bloody sweat and tears into the fic and for the record it is my first JAG one. This may or may not be obvious as you read through it so I thought that I would warn you now. I may not be an expert on everything JAG (just an extremely obsessed military/legal fan) but I think that I should be at least given points for enthusiasm! Lol. Most of all please enjoy. It's something different, maybe even quirky and true to **my** style of writing. Whether you like or don't like it, please do not hesitate to tell me. Well that's me done. This is the second post (something that often happens after I evaluate my work) so many mistakes have been taken care of and bit and pieces have been added. Enjoy.  _

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**_DISCLAMIER:_**_ This story has nothing to do with the legal owners of JAG. It is purely fan fiction and should be treated as such. The story line and characters not from JAG are mine but that is all. I am not in any way getting paid for this work only hopefully in reviews_. 

Life For Rent Chapter One – Working Late 

**__**

**-----**

"If my life is for rent, 

And I don't learn to buy. 

Then I deserve nothing more than I get,

'Cause nothing I have is truly mine." – Life for Rent, Dido. 

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**FRIDAY 1800 HRS **

**JAG HEADQUARTERS**

**FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA**

Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie slumped tired in her chair. She had been through a long hard day filled with cases and interviews and she wanted more than to go home, run a bath and soak her stress away. She looked up from the mound of paperwork sitting in front of her and watched as the lights in the bullpen not being used flickered and turned off. The only light that now remained was that of her lamp and the lamp of Commander Harmon Rabb's across the other side of the bullpen. She tried to catch sight of him, but was caught off guard when Lieutenant Harriet Sims poked her head through the door.  She smiled happily at Mac. 

"Ma'am, I'm leaving now." She said, walking into the office and juggling a stack of files on her hip. "Is there anything you would like me to do before I go?"  

Mac smiled feebly at her friend. She looked beat and Mac felt much the same. She shook her head considerately. "No thank you Harriet. Everything is pretty much taken care of." She said, biting her lip and looking down at the open manila folder in front of her. "I just have another file to sort through and I'll be on my way out." 

Harriet smiled weakly, showing concern for her senior officer. "It's getting late ma'am and you've been working all day. Isn't it about time you called it a night?" 

Mac sighed tiredly and raised her head slightly to meet Harriet's eye. "Maybe your right." She said defeated, not having the heart to argue with Harriet. "I could do with a long hot bath and a good night sleep." 

Harriet smiled happily. She had been able to convince a workaholic to take time off. She was happy with herself.  "Well it's settled then. You go home, have a bath and a long relaxing weekend." Harriet added, clapping her hands together slightly excitedly. "What I would give to be able to do the same."  

Mac chuckled and slid the cover of her folder closed. "If you ever needed Harriet, I could look after AJ and give you and Bud a break." She offered, getting up out of her chair, and beginning to form a small pile of take home paperwork in front of her. 

Harriet nodded. "Thank you Ma'am." She said happily. "When things start to calm down and you're not as busy I may just take you up on that offer." 

Mac smiled. "Anytime." She said giving her a wink. "I love babysitting little A.J. He holds the secrets to the male psyche."  

Harriet laughed. "Well I'd better be off. Have to go and relieve Bud from babysitting duty." She said and turned her way out of the office. "Have a good weekend Mac." She called from the doorway. 

"You too, Harriet." She added as Harriet crossed the bullpen and disappeared into the elevator. 

Mac listened as the elevator door slide closed, leaving only Harm and herself as the only JAG personnel on the floor. Quietly Mac packed her paperwork into her briefcase and switched off her desk lamp. She was glad that Harriet had encouraged her to go home, but the thought of mounting paperwork and case files loomed heavily on her mind. She decided that her long hot bath and curl up in bed would have to wait; paperwork would be on tonight's agenda. Half-heartedly Mac picked up the suitcase from her desk and made her way out of her office. She hesitantly looked across to Harm's office and decided she would have a chat with him on the way out. As she approached the office, she heard the receiver of a phone being slammed back into handset. Obviously a bad phone call. Cautiously, she stopped in the doorframe and knocked softly on the door. Harm looked up from his desk, a frown upon his face. He met eyes with Mac, and smiled. 

"Hey Marine." He greeted timidly, leaning back in his chair. "How was your day?" 

Mac sighed and walked into the office. Where did he want her to start? 

"It could have been worse." She said biting her lip. "What about yourself? Hard day at the office?" 

Harm grinned, leaning heavily upon the armrest of his chair. "Something like that." He said slyly, meeting her eye. "But nothing a couple of beers, some takeaway and an evening with friendly company and TV wouldn't cure." 

Mac arched her eyebrow. "I see.  Are you inviting yourself over to watch my TV?" 

Harm shrugged. "If that's ok with you. I thought that maybe we could catch up. It's been a while since we did something like a takeaway and TV night." He replied sitting forward on his chair. "Besides, I'm hanging out for a Veggie Burger and I know that you'll be wanting something along the lines of a cholesterol fest." 

Mac chuckled; feeling the sudden longingly of takeaway hit her stomach. "Throw in a hamburger with the lot and I may just consider it." 

Harm grinned. "I think I could do that."

"Great. Why don't you pick up the food and then meet me at my place.  I could always use someone to flick the channels while I eat my burger." She gave him an engaging grin.  

Harm laughed casually and got up out of his chair. He leant across the desk grabbing his own stack of paperwork and shoving it into his briefcase. "I think you've got yourself a deal."

**

FRIDAY 1900HRS 

**MAC'S APARTMENT **

GEORGETOWN, DC 

Mac surfed the television channels idly, waiting for her burger and company to arrive. She could almost taste the juicy steak and salad and was having trouble trying to concentrate on anything besides food. When the doorbell finally rang Mac practically jumped off the couch and ran to the door. 

"About time." She said eagerly, opening the door for Harm. "I was beginning to think that you'd gone AWOL with my burger." She grabbed the takeaway bag from Harm's hand and walking towards the kitchen bench. 

Behind her Harm laughed casually. "You think I'd want a death wish like that?" 

Mac shot Harm a dirty look pretending to be offended. "I'm not that bad." She said digging into the bag and pulling out the two burgers. She noted one was Veggie and rolled her eyes at Harm.

"Trust me, I've seen grown men eat a lot less than you." 

"Well at least I eat real food." She threw back at him. 

Harm shrugged. "I eat real food, I just choose not to eat something that was previously a mammal."  He said watching her as she went to the fridge and pulled out a can of Coke for herself. 

Mac shook her head, preoccupied with opening the Coke. "Moving on…there isn't much on TV tonight. I already checked it out. Looks like we have to rely on good old friendly conversation." 

"Well that wasn't part of the deal." He replied, taking his burger from the bench and grabbing a coke from the fridge. "Looks like we might have to be nice to each other for a change." 

"It does doesn't it?" She said making her way towards the couch and sitting herself down on one end. "Or you could help me look though this court martial I have to work on. Two heads are better than one." 

Harm nodded, taking a bite from his burger and grabbing a seat next to Mac. "Sure. There's nothing like spending a Friday night working."

Mac frowned. "How pathetic. There has to be something we can talk about." She chewed at her burger, searching her mind. "Nope I've got nothing." 

Harm chuckled. "Me either." He picked up the TV Remote. "Let's just have another look huh?"  

**

**FRIDAY 2200 HRS **

MAC'S APARTMENT 

**GEORGETOWN, DC**

Mac rubbed her eyes and stretched her legs across the couch, dropping them into Harm's lap. The TV had become boring, as had the court martial. Instead they had settled for a childish game of Truth or Dare. 

 "Your turn," she said smiling warmly at him. "Truth or Dare?" 

Harm laughed, and took another swig from his third coke. They had been playing this game for about 2 hours and Mac still hadn't run out of forceful questions that got Harm to admit more to her than he usually would. Harm concluded that it was his own stupid fault for playing a teenage game of Truth or Dare with one of the best lawyers in the Military. 

"Dare." Harm replied, glad that he would be safe for another round. Mac pursed her lips for a moment, contemplating a dare fit for a Squid. She smiled, thinking of a perfect one for the occasion. 

"I dare you to massage my feet." She said raising her eyebrows and nodding towards her feet perched in his lap. "And that was a pretty cowardly way to worm your way out of this game, by the way." 

Harm laughed quietly and leant forward to place his drink on the coffee table. He took hold of her left foot and began rubbing it slowly. "What did you expect me to do?" he asked arching a brow at her. "I didn't think that I could handle another truth question." 

Mac smiled happily. "Well at least I know that my question powers do no go to waist on you Harmon Rabb." She laughed; closing her eyes tiredly as Harm gently massaged her foot. "Now it's my turn. I pick…. truth."  

Harm bit his lip, concentrating on the massage. He racked his brain for a question that could combat the massage dare. It was a relief to chill out after the hard week he'd had. "Truth?" he repeated, lifting his gaze to Mac's face. "Are you sure?" 

Mac nodded, eyes still closed. "Uh huh. Hurry up flyboy, we don't have all night." She murmured.  

Harm smiled. "Ok. I've got a good one." 

Mac forced her eyes open, and smiled warmly. "Go on..." 

Harm nodded and paused the massage. "If I hadn't have crashed down in the ocean and gone missing, would you have gone ahead and married Brumby?" He asked quietly, placing his palm against the bottom of Mac's foot and cracking her ankle. 

Mac looked away from Harm, thinking desperately for an answer. She had never actually thought about it. Would she had married Mic if Harm hadn't have gone missing? Would things be different now? Could she bet sitting on her couch right now receiving a foot massage from her husband Mic Brumby or would she still be sitting on her with her best friend and JAG partner, Harmon Rabb? She turned back towards Harm and frowned. 

"I dunno." She said softly, feeling the tension drain from her body and her feet relaxed with Harm's touch. "I loved Mic but I wasn't in love with him. There's a difference. I think I just panicked that time was beginning to tick and I still wasn't in ideal relationship or any relationship for that matter." 

Harm nodded, he was satisfied with that answer. He felt a heavy weight settle in his chest but he pretending to ignore it. He didn't know why he wasn't relieved that Mac wouldn't have married Brumby. He continued to massage Mac's feet in silence; he didn't want to speak again as he felt that he couldn't trust his tongue. He knew that Mac's situation with Mic was the same as he had with Renee. He loved her or rather he felt strongly for her, but he was never in love with her and he didn't think that he could have ever had been in love with her. He felt something much stronger for Mac, but how much stronger he didn't know. 

Mac felt uncomfortable in the silence that had fallen between herself and Harm. She wanted to blurt out that that the reason she wasn't in love with Mic was because she was in love with Harm. She admitted to herself that that was the reason she still allowed the pair to dance around each other. She still loved Harm deep inside, but she couldn't quite bring herself to admit it. Mac sighed heavily and looked away from Harm and towards the turned off TV. She wished the remote were handy so that she could switch it on and fill the silence, but the remote was on the table, near Harm's coke, and she didn't dare move. She felt Harm's hands slow and then stop. He shifted under her feet and leant forward to grab his drink. 

"It's my turn." He said acutely, taking a sip. "This time I pick truth." 

Mac smiled apprehensively. "You still want to play, Squid?" 

Harm chuckled lowly and looked her directly in the eye. "You can't scare me off that easily, Marine." He added lifting the sullen mood. "Now fire a truth question at me." 

Mac took a deep breath, racking her brain for a question. None sprang to mind. "I'm out." She said miserably. "Can't think of one single question that I want answered." 

Harm smiled. "Does this mean that you rest your case?" he said slyly, sinking into a flyboy grin. 

Mac chuckled. "I guess it does." She added, withdrawing her feet from Harm's lap and tucking her knees up under her chin. "What about you Commander…do you have another question?" 

Harm nodded. "I have one in mind." He said slowly, emptying his glass. "But I don't know if you want to answer it." 

Mac laughed, shaking her head in amusement. "I have to. It's the rules of the game. Fire away." 

"If you could spend one night with an single person on this earth, who would it be?" he asked candidly, settling back into the couch. 

Mac arched a brow. "What do you mean spend…" 

"Use your imagination." Harm added softly, folding his arms across his chest. 

Mac smiled, thinking for a moment. She laughed in defeat. "I have no idea." She said cheerfully, stretching her right leg out so that Harm could finish her massage. 

Harm shook his head. "I can't believe you." He replied, a grin across his face. "You wormed your way out of it." 

Mac laughed. "Fine. You answer the question and then I will." 

Harm shrugged. "That's easy." 

"It's is?" 

Harm secured her with a sincere and genuine smile. "It is." 

Mac raised her eyebrow. "It's not a supermodel or actress is it?" 

Harm shook his head. "No, it's not. You're not even close." 

Mac racked her brain. "I give up. 'Fess your secret flyboy."

"Come on Mac." He said obviously. "It is so obvious that if you haven't figured it out I'm genuinely offended."  

Mac shrugged. "I don't know. Singer?" She tried hard not to laugh. She was winding him up. 

"Not funny." Harm replied, pretending to scold. "I'm offended now." 

Mac chuckled. "Come on. Now I really want to know. Give me a clue." She pouted for added effect. 

"I don't know," he replied riskily. "You might not be able to handle it-" 

"Don't flatter yourself." She laughed. "Do you want me to answer then?" 

Harm shook his head. "No. Ok. I'll tell you." He reached forward thumbing Mac's cheek. "It's you. It has and always will be. I love you Sarah." 

Mac's heart nearly leapt out of her chest. She only had one coherent thought running though her brain. In fact it was screaming through her brain. Kiss him! Mac made to move forward but found that Harm had beaten her. He grabbed hold of her legs lightly and pulled her into his lap. 

"I was wondering when you'd give me the chance." He said quietly, staring her intently into her eyes. "I've been wanting to say it for years and tonight just seemed like the ideal chance. If I didn't say it now I don't know when I get another chance would roll around." 

Mac's stomach somersaulted. She swallowed hard and then smiled blissfully. "Well then, what's taken you so long?" She said kissing him gently on the lips. 

After a while they broke apart and Mac tried to recapture Harm's lips.  "Not so fast." He said pulling her if possible closer. "This was my idea. The ball is in my court." 

Mac smiled playfully. "Fine. Just shut up and do it then will you." She gushed, leaning towards his lips. 

Harm smiled and pulled Mac down across the couch. He planted another kiss on her lips, this time more passionate. 

"I'm not in any rush, Mac. I have all night."  


	2. You Sure Can Pick Them

AN: Am not even going to attempt to operate this fic in ZULU time. Way too confusing considering that no matter how many times one explains it to me, I still end up with a headache. Hope everyone understands. Thanks for the reviews and I'm sorry that last chapter didn't seem to live up to peoples standards. Hopefully this one will. Life For Rent Chapter Two – You sure can pick them 

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 "If you should stop for a while,  
You will find me standing by,  
Over here at the side of your life.  
I'd like to hold you still, 

Remind you of all you've missed,  
If you have a little time,  
If you have a little time that is."  - Do you have a little time? -  Dido. **__**

--------------------------

MAC'S APARTMENT 

**0830 HRS **

Mac opened her eyes as the sweltering morning sun pushed it's way through her bedroom blinds and engulfed the room. Her hair stuck to the back of her neck and the doona and flannelette pyjamas that she was rapt in suddenly became unbearable. Hearing the faint crackle of bacon sizzling in a pan, she lifted her tired and limp body up into a sitting position and cursed herself for waking so late on a Saturday morning. Usual she would wake a 0500, head out for a run, return home at 0630 and start the day with a piece of toast, a coffee and the newspaper. Today was different, very different, and as she took a look around the room, she realised that the imprint of where Harm had slept the night before, was still fresh and warm from his body. Mac felt a sudden rise of colour in her cheeks as she remembered what had happened the night before. It had started off as an innocent night, where two extremely good friends and work buddies had blown off the week's steam with a night of takeaway and friendly banter. The way it ended – well that was a different story. Harm and Mac would either welcome last nights activities as a given or as a very significant mistake that would most probably change not only their personal lives, but professional ones as well. Taking it as a good sign that Harm was puddling around in her kitchen, Mac plastered a smile on her face, heaved her body from the bed and puddled bare foot into the kitchen to meet her partner. 

Harm stood with his back to the hallway, flipping sizzling bacon and eggs and watching Mac's television at the same time. She felt a small wave of pride overcome her when she realised just how at ease Harm was in her kitchen. Feeling himself being watched, he smiled and flicked the TV off with the remote on the bench. 

"Morning." He said happily, drawing all his attention to Mac. "How did you sleep?" 

Mac arched a brow and grinned. She walked towards the fridge and pulled out a flask of orange juice. Harm knew full well of the answer, Mac didn't sleep at all. 

"Fine I guess. I had this vivid dream that I was snuggled up next a JAG Commander for most of the night." 

Harm grinned in reply and turned back to his sizzling breakfast. 

"JAG Commander?" he asked pulling a plate from the drainer and lifting 2 rashes of cooked bacon on to it. "Don't tell me you've been having dreams about Sturgis again?" 

Mac chuckled as she poured to glasses of orange juice. 

"Again?" she replied returning the flask to the fridge. "When was the first time I had a dream about being snuggled up to Sturgis?" 

Harm sighed contently and breathed in the smell of the breakfast. He had made bacon and eggs for Mac and toast for himself. He finished dishing up the two plates, put the pan in the sink and then pushed them across the other side of the bench top, where two placemats and two sets of knives and forks were waiting. 

"Dunno." He whispered thoughtfully. "But whenever it was, spare me the details." 

Mac shook her head in disbelief as she made her way around the bench and towards the plate of bacon and eggs. 

"I'd like to spare _myself_ the detail if you don't mind." She added sitting down. 

Harm smiled thoughtfully and watched as Mac began eating or rather demolishing her breakfast. He loved how she would eat as much as she could and then fight with him over being obsessed with food. Harm realised, even though it was clear obvious before now, that Mac was the exact opposite of Renee. This cheered him up somewhat as the thought of his and Renee's failed relationship was not something he often could think about without a heavy layer of guilt setting in his gut. 

As Mac concentrated on filling her grumbling stomach, she became away of Harm eyes on her. She looked up hastily, through her fifth mouthful, and stopped. 

"What?" she asked childishly, replacing her knife and fork on her plate and looking slightly embarrassed towards Harm's untouched food. 

Harm smiled. 

"I was thinking about how beautiful you are." He said gently, his eyes shining. 

Mac swallowed the last mouthful of food and looked away, biting down on her lip. 

"Is last night going to change things?" she asked slowly. "I mean really change things? Are we going to end up like one of those couples that tear their lives apart because they can't distinguish between what's personal and what's professional? I mean let's face it – we compete with each other all the time. Who's going to win what case – who's going to win over the other? If that's going escalate even further – well – I don't know if I could handle that. " She looked up and met his eyes, which were now extinguished and full of hurt. "I don't think I can handle it turning out like it did after Australia. I gave you my heart Harm, and you flew your big stupid aircraft through it. I don't want that to happen again." 

Not sure how to reply, Harm grabbed the glass of orange juice that Mac had poured for him and took a sip. He then took a deep breath and looked away himself, contemplating Mac's words. Feeling the pressure of silence, Mac pushed her plate away and got up off the stool she had been perched on. She decided his silence meant that he had no answer. Mac decided to get out as fast as humanly possible.

"I think I'll go and have a shower."  She said. "Thank you for breakfast." 

Mac waited a few moments, watching Harm apologetically, waiting for him to look at her - but he didn't. Tucking a stray stand of hair behind her ear Mac bowed her head and walked out of the kitchen. Becoming angered with himself for letting Mac walk out again without knowing his true feelings, Harm replaced the glass on the bench and followed Mac into her bedroom. 

"I don't want things to turn out like they did before either." He began as he leaned a shoulder on the doorframe. "And I don't think that they will. I know that we've hurt each other before – but why do you think that it's going to happen again? Isn't seven, nearly eight years of dancing around each other enough to see Mac?" 

Mac kept her back to him, as she gathered a pair of jeans and a white tank top from her cupboard. She ignored him momentarily, wishing that the romance of last night didn't have to coming crashing down so fast. Slightly angered and hurt at Mac's lack of reply, Harm stepped quietly into the room and moved towards her. 

"Sarah, look at me." He pleaded, gently touching her on the upper arm. "Please." 

Mac stopped and turned to look at him. She stared at the black T-shirt hugging his defined chest and then nervously looked up and into his eyes. She was determined not to make this too emotional but that plan was crashing and burning fast.  

"I'm not going to push you away this time." He said softly. "I admit, it won't be easy as a start – trying to stop myself from dragging you into my office and kissing you senselessly in the middle of a fight - but," he added smiling, "We're both adults not hormone induced teenagers. I love you and I know you feel the same. I don't want to make this cliché but why can't we give this relationship a go? There have been times where it was too complicated for us to get our act together, but this time there is nothing standing in the way. I'm ready to give it a go what about you?" 

Mac's cool composure was broken with a smile as she breathed in the scent of Harm's aftershave that was still present from the night before. 

"You want to do this then?" she repeated, more for her sake then Harm's. She was finding it Harm to believe that Harm was actually admitting that he wanted to be with her. They had come to the point so many times but had both continued to back down. This time it was for real and this time things were different. They had no excuses and both were quietly thankful for that. 

Harm nodded slowly. He thought he'd just poured out the corniest speech in his life and Mac was asking his to clarify it. "Isn't that what I just said?" 

Mac rolled her eyes. "We'll let's give it a go then." She said stepping into his embrace and hugging him tightly around the waist. It felt good to be back in his arms. 

Harm kissed her lightly on the forehead. "I though you were reconsidering for a moment."

"I wouldn't never reconsider but we do need to lay down some ground rules." She looked up at him seriously. "What happens after hours stays out of work conversation. Alternatively we can't bring our work home with us either. We need to act professionally." She stopped. "I'm nagging aren't I?"

Harm smiled and nodded. "Mac, where have you been for the past couple of years? We haven't even acted professional when the duty called for it how the hell do you expect us to all of a sudden become so professional that we turn JAG upside down? Surely people will begin to suspect when we don't have our weekly war about cases, evidence and whatnot." Harm lowered his voice. "Surely Harriet will suspect." He added with a smile. "No to mention the Admiral doesn't miss a thing." 

Mac nodded and leant forward, engaging Harm in a kiss. His hands moved to the small of her back as he pulled her closer. Mac groaned as he deepened the kiss and as quickly as it had all started, Harm pulled away. He smiled somewhat teasingly as he slowly backed out of the room, his eyes fixed on her. 

"My breakfast of toast awaits." He said light heartedly. "And you said that you were going to have a shower." 

Mac sighed, slightly put off that Harm had back away. She gathered her clothes from the floor, that she had managed to drop during Harm's passionate kiss, and she adjusted her pyjamas with the last strands of dignity she had. 

"Yeah." She mumbled, as he reached the door. "And now it's going to have to be a cold one." 

Harm grinned flyboy style. 

"You said it, not me." He said cheerfully walking out of the room. 

* * * * *  

**0930 HRS **

Mac rinsed the last of the shampoo from her hair and turned the tap off grudgingly. The cold shower had soothed the mornings heat and settled her from wanting to repeat all actions of last night with Harm. She stepped out of the shower and pulled her fluffy blue bath towel from the towel rack beside the shower. Wrapping it around her skilfully, she walked towards the basin and grabbed her toothpaste and toothbrush. Mac had just applied a small strip of toothpaste to the brush and placed it in her mouth when the bathroom door swung open. Gathering the towel around her and pulling the nearly swallowed toothbrush from her mouth, Mac narrowed her eyes at Harm as he poked his head in the door. 

"Sorry to interrupt," he said cheerfully indicating the complete opposite to what he was saying, "but Bud is on the phone." He looked Mac up and down in the towel and smiled roguishly. "He said that he'd like a word about the dinner you're supposed to be attending tonight." 

Mac stared at Harm indignantly and waved the toothbrush as him. _Men! _She thought angrily. _One-track mind. _ 

"What dinner?" she asked ignoring Harm's smile.  

Harm smiled again, this time for a different reason. He arched an eyebrow at Mac. 

"You seriously don't remember what I'm talking about do you?" He asked slightly dissatisfied. 

Mac frowned as a wave of worry fanning across her face. 

"No." she replied slowly, wracking her brain for any dinner plans involving the Robert's. "No I don't." 

"Bud and Harriet's wedding anniversary." Harm replied expertly. "Dinner at Bud and Harriet's celebrating their wedding anniversary." 

Mac sighed, have remembered instantly that Harriet had asked her about it two weeks ago. 

"Now I remember. But why didn't you tell Bud that I was in the shower and that I would call him back later." Mac asked, raising her brow. 

Harm smiled. 

"I did." He replied grabbing hold of the door handle. "I just wanted –" 

Mac reached for the box of tissue sitting on the basin and threw them in Harm's direction. On reflex, Harm pulled the door closed, letting the tissue bounce off the door and land feebly on the ground. He opened it again slightly and stuck his head through the gap.

"I like to reply 'is that all you've got?' but I know you've got a pretty mean right hook that I wouldn't want to be on the end off." 

And with a last grin at Mac's attire, Harm slammed the door closed.  Mac rolled her eyes and studied herself in the mirror above the basin. 

"Men." She muttered staring at her own reflection. "You really can pick them."

**To Be Continued…**

_BTW – Any mistakes – please ignore. I feel like a bit of impulse posting this arvo and there is nothing that spells out mistakes like impulse posting. _


	3. The Meeting Of Foes

AN: Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter. This is part A. I haven't finished part B yet but I wanted to post. 

Disclaimer: JAG does not belong to me and neither do the lyrics to Dido's songs. 

Chapter Summary: Now the weekend is over, Mac and Harm have to face some unwelcome news back at JAG.  

Life For Rent

Chapter three – The Meeting of Foes

(Part 1)

*---------*-----------*-----------*---------*

"This land is mine but I'll let you rule

I'll let you navigate and demand

Just as long as you know, this land is mine.

So find you're home and settle in

Oh I'm ready to let you in

Just as long as we know, this land is mine." – This Land is Mine, Dido.

*----------*-----------*-----------*----------*

MONDAY 0830 HRS 

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Mac tapped her foot impatiently waiting for the elevator to arrive at the right floor. She had overslept after staying up half the night doing the paperwork that she had planned to do on Friday evening, but never had a change to complete. The weekend had been filled by Bud and Harriet's Anniversary Party as well as Sunday spent with Harm lounging on the couch eating in and watching TV. Glancing around the empty elevator nervously, Mac noticed that this would have to be the first time she had ever been late for work. Almost instantaneously the elevator doors slide open and revealed a reeling bullpen alight and buzzing with work. Scolding angrily, Mac stepped out of the elevator and grudgingly made her way towards her office. She snuck a look toward Harm's office noticing that his door was open and his briefcase was lying idly on his desk. She couldn't believe that for once Harm had beaten her to work. Engrossed in thought as she continued towards her office with her head down, Mac walked headlong into Harriet as she hurried out of Mac's office. 

"Colonel MacKenzie!" Harriet cried startled, stepping back from the angry marine. "I'm sorry Ma'am, I wasn't-" 

"It's ok Harriet." Mac gushed, cutting the rambling lieutenant off. "It was my fault not yours."

 Harriet nodded nervously and glanced over Mac shoulder and towards the Admiral's office. 

"Forgive me ma'am, but your quite late this morning. Can I ask why?" 

Mac nodded moodily. 

"I overslept." She said shortly, staring indignantly towards her shoes in embarrassment. "For the first time ever." 

The lieutenant smiled, an unmistakeable sparkle in her eyes. 

"Overslept ma'am?" she asked amused. "Surely a marine doesn't just over sleep ma'am." 

Mac rolled her eyes at Harriet and stepped forward to open her office door. 

"You're beginning to sound like Harm, Harriet." She replied matter-of-factly walking in and moving behind her desk. "And I'm not entirely sure that that's a good thing." 

Harriet chuckled, watching as Mac dropped her heavy suitcase on her desk and flopped back into her high back chair. 

"Speaking of Commander Rabb, the Admiral wishes to see the pair of you in his office this morning. He called the meeting well over 10 minutes ago ma'am. I think your running late." 

Mac groaned and reluctantly pulled herself away from the comfort of her chair. She figured that as she was already late a few more moments would hurt. 

"How's Bud?" she asked caringly, stopping in front of Harriet on her way out of the office.  "He seemed a little down on Saturday night." 

Harriet let a low exasperated sigh escape her lips. She loved her husband dearly but his 'obsession' to get back to JAG full time was driving her around the bend. 

"He's finding restricted duty hard to handle ma'am. Bud's itching to get his hands on a proper case and get back into the swing of things. It quite disheartening watching him become so frustrated with himself." 

Mac nodded grimly, and placed a comforting hand on Harriet's shoulder. 

"It must be hard for him." She replied. "Bud does love his job." 

Harriet nodded. 

"Commander Turner is doing everything he can to get Bud's fitness up, but he agrees Bud is trying to do too much, too soon."

Mac opened her mouth to say something but at the same time Harm barged through the office door. He raised his eyebrow slightly, realising he may have just barged in through a conversation.   

"Sorry," he apologised sincerely, stepping into the office. "But Mac the Admiral wants to see you. Now." 

Mac nodded, gave Harriet an affectionate squeeze on the arm and smiled. 

"Can we talk about this later Harriet?"

Harriet nodded. 

"Sure ma'am. Over coffee after the Admiral's meeting?" she asked hopefully, putting on a sincere smile. 

Mac nodded. 

"Sounds great lieutenant." She said turning her gaze to Harm who was standing in the doorway, arms crossed tightly across his chest and an impatent look displayed on his face. "Now if you excuse me-" 

"Of course ma'am." Harriet replied, moving towards the doorway. "Commander Rabb." She greeted nodding to him as she passed out of the door. 

"Lieutenant."

Mac studied Harm cautiously, his face hiding his emotion. 

"I see you arrived early." She said crossing her own arms across her chest. "Do you actually decide to buy an alarm clock?" 

Harm smirked. 

"That's what happens when you begin sleeping with a Marine." He replied quietly. "I suddenly find myself waking up at 0500 and wanting to actually get out of bed." 

Mac chuckled. 

"You wish flyboy." 

Harm cocked an eyebrow.

"So," he replied dropping his hands to his side. "Why were you so late to work this morning? Have to be the first time since you started at JAG." 

"I was up all night finalising paperwork and I didn't wake until late." She said annoyed, passing Harm and following Harriet's route out the doorway. 

Harm followed, easily falling into stride along with the healed Marine. 

"You overslept?" he laughed. "Wow." 

Mac shot him a warning look. 

"Why is it such a big deal? I mean you usually don't even bother to arrive until 0915." 

Harm chuckled and fell behind Mac as a group of Marine's passed. 

"Morning Colonel. Commander." 

Mac smiled in reply, Harm on the other hand nodded as he was still chuckling to himself. 

"What?" she asked indigently turning to face Harm after the parade of marines had passed.

"The big deal is you are the most impeccable person I have every met Mac. Especially when it comes to punctuality. You arrive at work up to 45 minutes early just so you can be sure you absolutely ready for the day." 

Mac frowned. 

"Does this actually have a point Harm?" she said lifelessly, stalking towards the Admiral's office door. "Cause if it doesn't, hold your tongue flyboy." 

Harm shook his head and followed aimlessly towards the Admiral's door. Mac knocked twice and opened the door slightly, waiting for the command to enter. It came promptly and when Mac stepped inside she came face to face with non other than Commander Mic Brumby. 

"Brumby?" Harm spat, walking into the Admiral's office. 

Mic smiled widely, indicating that his cockiness had not dissolved since there last meeting. 

"It's pleasing to see you to Rabb." He said sarcastically, watching Harm carefully. 

Mac was frozen in her tracks. She gulped down a mouthful of air and took a step into the room. 

"Mic? What exactly are you doing here?"

TO BE CONTINUED -- 


	4. The Meeting of Foes 2

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Harm but I don't. I wish I owned JAG but I don't own that either. You all knew that anyway. 

Author's Note: Hey thanks for the great reviews. I'm glad that you're all getting into the story. Definitely will be a little more thrilling as all the setting up is over and the fun is about to begin. 

Chapter Summary: Mic's got news for the JAG team and it's all bad. 

**[PREVIOUSLY]**

"Brumby?" Harm spat, walking into the Admiral's office. 

Mic smiled widely, indicating that his cockiness had not dissolved since there last meeting. 

"It's pleasing to see you to Rabb." He said sarcastically, watching Harm carefully. 

Mac was frozen in her tracks. She gulped down a mouthful of air and took a step into the room. 

"Mic? What exactly are you doing here?" 

CHAPTER THREE – MEETING OF FOES PART B 

Mic gave Mac an indignant look and stalked towards the row of chairs sitting across from the Admiral's desk. A third chair had been placed next to the normal two, an obvious sign that the Admiral had been expecting Mic's visit. There was no sign of the Admiral and slightly shaken by seeing Mic, Mac followed him. Mic lifted his head and looked into Mac eyes. She was taken back by the deflated look he gave her.

"What am I doing here?" he repeated quietly. "I'm here on business if that puts you at ease." 

Harm snorted candidly and turned back towards the open door. He closed it gently and twisted his gaze back to Mic and Mac. He felt protective of Mac but thought it best to stay out of it, after all a feeling of pride settled in his stomach. He had won Mac. Mic surely wasn't here to get her back. He would have returned sooner if that were what he wanted.  

"Puts me at ease?" Mac asked croakily, staring at him fiercely. "Why would that put me at ease Mic? The unnerving thing is that your hear at all!" 

Pushing away the thought of not interfering, Harm strode towards Mac, gently pulling her away from Mic. She looked like she was going to take a swing a Mic and no matter how much Harm would have loved to join in, he felt that in this situation he had to be the grown up. 

"Mac." He hushed warningly. "This isn't the place." 

Mac bit her lip angrily. She couldn't believe that Harm was actually lecturing her on an issue like this. She was usually the calm and collected one that had to rescue him from a hot-headed situation. She peeked over Harm's shoulder to see Mic sitting quietly in the chair, his head bowed and leaning against his right arm that was leaning on the arm of the chair. 

"I didn't realise that you actually hated me so much Sarah." He replied loudly, lifting his gaze to Mac.  "I came here for your help, but now I'm actually wondering why I thought that you would agree to help me. I see something haven't changed."

Mac's eyes flashed and not wanting to be caught in the firing line Harm moved towards a row of books in the corner. He was only going to intervene if it was a life and death situation or if he had the proper chance to punch Brumby right in his smug Australian suntanned nose. 

"What do you mean help?" She asked angrily, leaning on the side of the Admiral's desk. 

Mic sighed deeply and folded his arms in his lap. 

"I mean legal help, Sarah. I'm in a bit of trouble." He replied lowering his voice to a normal level.

Harm bit his lip and folded his arms across his chest. Hearing Mic virtually beg for Mac's help amused him mildly. Mac's face contorted into an expression of confusion. She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and folded her shaky hands into her lap. Mic words kept repeating in her head_. 'I mean legal help Sarah. I'm in a bit of trouble.'_

"Trouble?" Harm mused, moving into the silent conversation. "Anything you want to fill us in on before Mac agrees." 

Mic smiled feebly. He could always count on Rabb to stick his nose in. 

"I'm not just here for Mac's help." He admitted, shifting uneasy in his chair. "I'm asking for your's too Rabb." 

Harm smiled smartly. 

"What makes you think that I'm going to help you Brumby?" He asked moving towards Mic. "I mean I do have a rather large caseload at the moment-" 

Mic frowned, remembering how much he really hated the guy standing in front of him. 

"Listen Rabb, I'm not here to help inflate your ego." He snapped in return. "I thought you might want to be involved – you never did pass up the chance to be involved in a murder case." 

Mac slid of the side of the desk and stumbled for her footing. 

"Murder case?" she asked softly. "What murder case?" 

Mic swallowed hard. 

"I'm being charged with murder." He said inaudibly staring her straight in the eye. 

Unable to come up with a sensible reply, Mac bit her tongue and sat down in a chair beside Mic. Harm's smiled vanished and a look of pure disbelief replaced it. 

"You're being charged with murder?" he asked tactlessly before he could stop himself. 

Mic nodded and folded his arms across his chest again. 

"Don't sound so amused Rabb. I didn't commit the murder. Do you think that I would have flown all the way to JAG to ask for your help if I had done it? I want to prove that I'm innocent." 

Mac opened her mouth to reply, but the Admiral opened the door and stepped into the office at the same time. At once all three officers stood to attention upon seeing the Admiral. 

"As you were." A.J barked closing the door behind him and moving towards his desk. 

Mac glanced at Harm, hoping that he could understand exactly what she was thinking. He seemed to, as he nodded and took the seat between Mic and Mac and sat down. Mic flopped back into his chair, a sigh of stress escaping his lips. Mac glanced around unsure before her gaze fell to the Admiral sitting silently behind his desk. 

"I'm guessing you've told them." He asked Mic quietly. 

Mic nodded. 

"Yes sir. I was going to wait until your return but truth be told sir, the Commander and Colonel weren't exactly happy to see me. I decided to explain myself, sir." 

A.J nodded slowly, folding his hands into a steeple in front of his chest. He took a deep breath and switched his gaze between Harm and Mac whose expressions showed that they wanted answered. 

"Commander Brumby has requested that JAG help him prove his innocence. I'm guessing that he has told you this much." 

Harm and Mac nodded. 

"Yes sir." 

"Commander Brumby's superior Admiral McManus believes that he is innocent also. That is why I have allowed this case to come thus far. McManus had asked that JAG place their best attorney's on this case and they happen to be sitting before me. The only thing left to discuss is whether you are willing to take it. I am giving you the choice, given the history between the three of you." 

Harm nodded slowly, his mind already made up. Brumby must have had to swallow a lot of pride to ask for his help – the least he could do was give him the time of day. Mac on the other hand, made no moment or any sign that she had heard anything that the Admiral had said. A cell phone ringing broke the silence and Mic dove into his civilian jacket to retrieve it. He studied the number and pressed the green button to receive the call. 

"Mic." He said softly getting up. He smiled and then nodded. "Just give me a sec." He said to the person on the other line. He looked towards the Admiral for approval and solemnly A.J nodded. 

Mic mouth thank you and exited the room. Mac however breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Sir, can I ask the nature of the case? What is Mic's situation?" 

A.J nodded gravely, before lifting Mic's file from his desk. 

"Major Megan O'Neil was found dead in her hotel room on R and R. Commander Brumby is the last know person to see her alive and his prints were found everywhere in the hotel room. The only option was to charge him with O'Neil's murder. He claims that he's innocent but the evidence states otherwise."

Harm nodded. 

"Does Brumby have a alibi?" he asked calmly. 

The Admiral nodded and flipped through the file. 

"Yes and no. Brumby claims that he was sound asleep next to his fiancée at the alleged time of the Major's murder. His fiancée, Jennifer Gallagher, is unable to back him up. She was asleep at the time Brumby arrived home and didn't wake until the next morning." 

Mac felt a sudden stab of hurt at the thought of Mic being engaged. It knocked her to think that he had moved on with his life, gotten himself engaged and she was still dancing around with Harm. Even though over the weekend the dancing had stopped and more 'intimate' action had occurred, Mac still felt lonely at the thought of Harm and her being in an extremely new relationship even after nearly 8 years of friendship. 

"How exactly was the Major murdered?" Mac asked. 

A.J frowned and searched the information from the file. 

"She was strangled." He concluded, looking up again. "Strangled and left on the floor of her hotel room."

"Brutal." Harm commented, rubbing his eyes. "Doesn't seem like Brumby's style." 

Mac raised an eyebrow. The look of her face still displayed her shock from Brumby's announcement. 

"And murder is?" she asked quietly. 

Harm frowned. 

"You know what I mean."

Mac gave him a disapproving look. Indignantly, A.J coughed. 

"Decisions?" he asked sitting forward in his chair. "Commander?" 

Harm searched Mac for an answer. She turned her head away, staring at the Admiral. Biting his lip Harm replied, 

"I'm willing to take Brumby's case on."

A.J nodded gravely. 

"I thought as much." He looked towards Mac. "Colonel?" 

Mac played with the hem of her blouse* absentmindedly. Did she really want to get herself involved? Did she really want to have to work anywhere near Mic. She looked up to A.J searching eyes. 

"I have three files at the moment that I'm working on sir." She replied. " And this case is very demanding." 

A.J sighed. 

"I'm not asking you about your current workload Colonel. If you decided to work on this case the others can be wavered to Commanders Turner and Manetti. What is your decision?" A.J replied bluntly. 

Mac sighed half-heartedly, feeling suddenly deflated. 

"Mic has asked for my help sir. If he has the courage to ask, I have the readiness to comply." 

Harm snorted. 

"Just answer the question." He whispered. "Do you have to-"

"Yes." Mac replied loudly, drowning out Harm. "That means yes sir. I'll help Commander Rabb with Commander Brumby's case." 

*

**1200 HRS **

**JAG HEADQUARTERS **

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA 

Harriet poked her head through the door of Mac's office catching Mac staring blandly at the pile of paperwork on her desk. She smiled weakly and entered, two steaming mugs of coffee in her hand.  

"Here you go Ma'am." She greeted, placing the coffee in front of Mac. "I thought that this might help." 

Mac nodded and smiled appreciatively. 

"Thank you Harriet." She said thankfully, taking the steaming mug into her hand. "This is exactly what I need." 

Harriet nodded and took a seat across from Mac's desk. 

"I saw Commander Brumby in here this morning ma'am. Do you know why he's here?" 

Mac hesitated and then nodded gravely. 

"Yes." She said quietly. "I'm helping Mic with a case." 

Harriet frowned. 

"You think that such a wise idea ma'am?" Harriet asked sincerely. "I mean your past with the commander isn't exactly smooth ma'am."

Mac smiled warmly and leant back in her chair. 

"I know Harriet but I'll be fine." 

Harriet nodded again. 

"I wasn't worried about you ma'am. I was worried for Commander Brumby."

Mac smiled. 

"I don't think you need to worry about him either Harriet." Mac replied happily. "Mic has his own fan club to do that."

"Fan club ma'am?" Harriet asked naively taking a large sip from her mug.  

Mac nodded. 

"Yes, his fiancée."

Harriet choked and spat out her coffee, making Mac's smiled larger. 

"I'm sorry," Harriet gushed, mopping up the coffee from her uniform and Mac's desk. 

Mac waved her hand lifelessly and stood up from her chair. 

"Don't worry about it Harriet, I'll get you another." She replied ignoring Harriet's protests and exiting her office quickly.

Harm looked up from the fridge as Mac entered the kitchen. He noticed her lighter mood and smiled slightly. 

"You look a little happier than before." He said pulling a plastic bag from the fridge. 

Upon further inspection of the week old sandwich Harm screwed up his face and dumped it in the bin. Mac snorted amused and walked towards the coffee pot. 

"Is there a reason that I shouldn't be happy?" she asked innocently, pouring freshly brewed coffee in a mug from the drainer. 

Harm frowned, leaning up against the bench. 

"I think having a drink with Brumby tonight is a good reason." 

Mac's face fell and she turned back to Harm. 

"What?" she asked softly. "I didn't agree to that." 

"You don't have a choice." Harm replied unenthused. "He invited us for a drink so that we can meet Ms. Jennifer Gallagher." 

Mac snorted. 

"That's certainly going to make my day isn't it? First Mic walks back into my life and second I have to have a drink with him and his fiancée." 

Harm smiled. 

"Come on Mac. Anyone would think that you're jealous." He joked. 

Mac glared and added 2 teaspoons of sugar to Harriet's coffee.

"Don't worry your self flyboy, I'm not." 

Harm chuckled. 

"I wasn't worried Sarah. Just amused." 

Mac groaned. 

"I really don't want to have a drink with him tonight Harm. Is there anyway we can get out of this. I mean I wouldn't do that with any normal client." 

Harm shrugged. 

"I'm not impressed that Mic's here either Mac, but he is and tomorrow we're flying out to Australia to investigate and prove his innocence. The least you can do is meet him and Jennifer at McMurphy's tonight and chat with them for an hour at the most." 

Mac eyed Harm exasperated. 

"Why do you always make me feel guilty?" she asked, stirring the coffee. "I only agreed to this because you were so keen to help and I didn't want you to out do me." 

Harm laughed and raised an eyebrow. 

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" he laughed taking Harriet's coffee from the bench and sipping at it. 

Mac scolded. 

"That's Harriet's." she said exasperated, leaning on the bench. "It isn't so hard to make your own you know." 

Harm ignored Mac. 

"Are you coming out tonight or what?" he asked screwing up his face at the coffee and tipping it down the sink. "Cause maybe afterwards I could cook us some dinner." 

Mac scolded watching the coffee run down the sink. 

"As long as it isn't any rabbit food I'm in." She said defeated. 

Harm nodded. 

"Deal. I'll pick you up at 1900 then." 

Mac sighed, grabbed a fresh mug from the rack and filled it with coffee. 

"Deal." 

TO BE CONTINUED – 

*NB: This has been changed. AnchorsAweighNavykindly pointed out this little mistake, I originally had cover written here but realised my mistake when it was pointed out. Thank you for that. *Grins*


	5. Enter Ms Gallagher

**AN:** Thanks again to all who reviewed. There seems to be nothing like a cliff hanger to provoke reviews! I may have to resort to cliff hangers more often!  

Thanks to AnchorsAweighNavy who picked up my mistake in last chapter. 

**Disclaimer: **Disclaimers are boring and you all already know I that I don't own JAG or the lyrics to the songs used in this fic. 

**Chapter Summary:  **Enter Ms. Jennifer Gallagher. 

----------*----------*----------*----------*---------*--------*---------*---------*---------*----------

"I will go down with this ship, 

And I won't put my hand up and surrender. 

There will be no white flag above me door, 

I'm in love, I always will be." – White Flag, Dido.

--------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*-------*---------

MONDAY 1920 HRS 

**McMURPHY'S BAR **

Mac sighed heavily as the smoke of the bar hit and filled her lung when Harm and herself entered. She couldn't believe that she had been dragged into this situation. She sighed again, realising that she had actually consented to meeting Mic. Slightly annoyed she shot a glance at Harm who stood scanning the place for Mic and his company. 

"See them anywhere?" she asked unhelpfully, glancing down at her shoes. 

Harm nodded. 

"Uh huh." He added, smiling smartly. "They're sitting at the bar." 

Mac sighed and drew her attention towards the bar, where Mic and a beautiful blonde woman sat talking casually and laughing. Harm's smile vanished somewhat when he saw the look on Mac's face. He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. 

"Come on," he said confidently. "I promise only a hour."  

Mac nodded grimly, and tightened the hold on her handbag.

"I know." She replied bravely. "But I can think of better things that spending an hour with Mic." 

Harm laughed and caught Mic's eye as he glanced around from the bar. Smiling widely, he stood up from his chair and welcomed Harm and Mac over. 

"Harm. Mac." He greeted nodding in both their directions. "Thank you for agreeing to meet me here." 

Mac forced a smile and met the eye of which she supposed was Jennifer Gallagher.  Jennifer was tall, slender and drop dead gorgeous and as Mac noticed from a quick glance – wearing a diamond engagement ring big enough to sink the Titanic. Beside Mac, Harm leered.

"No problem." He said smiling at Jennifer. 

Mic took this as a sign to introduce the blonde beside him. 

"This is Jennifer Gallagher," he said smiling widely in her direction as Jen rose from her seat, "my fiancé." 

Mac noticed the long, perfect legs and flowing blonde hair. Jennifer looked like she had stepped out of a fashion magazine with her pinstriped suit, high heeled black boots, ruby red smile, blue eyes and perfect white teeth. Her skin was flawless and she seemed to be taller than Mic. Keeping the forced smile plastered onto her face, Mac offered her hand out for Jen to shake. 

"Nice to meet you Jennifer." She replied happily, as Jen shook Mac's hand. 

Jennifer smiled, showing off the beautiful teeth she had in her possession. 

"It good to finally meet you too Colonel." She said pleasantly an Australian accent shining through.  "Mic has told me so much about you."

Mac returned the exchange with a small smile and found herself wondering what exactly Jennifer did for a living._ Fashion Model maybe?_

"I'll bet," she said, grimacing at Mic. "And it's Mac by the way." 

Jennifer nodded making her long blonde hair bounce. 

"Of course Mac." 

Mac nodded and took a step back, allowing Harm to reach forward and shake Jennifer's hand.

"You must be Commander Harmon Rabb." Jennifer cooed shaking his hand and allowing a lingering touch. "Mic's attorney." 

Harm nodded briskly. 

"Harm." He smiled. "And yes, that would be me." 

Over Jen's shoulder, Mac noticed Mic's face fall somewhat. She struggled not to smile; obviously Mic's opinion of Harm hadn't exactly changed. Moving forward and breaking Harm and Jen's grasp, Mic nodded towards a table towards the back wall. 

"Why don't we go and sit down?" he asked. "We can talk better away from all the clutter." 

"We'll meet you there in a moment." Harm replied unfazed. "I'll just get us a couple of drinks." 

Mic nodded and led Jennifer towards the table. Once they were out of earshot, Mac let the forced smile drop.

"Well she seems nice." She said sarcastically. "Too nice if you get my drift." 

Harm chuckled as the bartender approached. He looked towards Mac, taking in the look in her eye. 

"A coke?" 

Mac nodded and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. 

"Why not? I'll definitely need something to keep me happy." She replied gloomily. 

Harm grimaced in the bartender's direction. 

"2 cokes." He said to the bartender before taking a step closer to Mac. 

"Too nice?" he repeated. "Seems a little hasty. She's just friendly." 

Mac snorted indignantly and shook her head. 

"Yeah, and I'm going to learn to fly a tomcat." she retorted. "Like you would have taken any notice. All you saw was blonde hair, a nice pair of legs and -"

Harm faced Mac, eyebrow raised high and amused look cast across his face. 

"And?" 

"And – blue eyes." She finished lamely, gently giving the bar a kick. 

"What exactly does that mean?" Harm chuckled at Mac. "I resent that comment." 

Mac smiled. 

"Come on, don't tell me you didn't notice." She retorted smartly, leaning up against the bar. "I know she certainly noticed you."

Harm leered as the bartender returned with the two cokes. He handed him a couple of notes and turned back to Mac. 

"Mac," Harm warned, the smile still on his face. "Don't tell me your jealous of Ms. Jennifer Gallagher are you?"

Mac raised an eyebrow. 

"Jealous. You wish Flyboy. Don't flatter yourself." 

Harm grinned and moved forward to whisper in Mac's ear. 

"That's good," he replied huskily. "Because you know who I'm going home with tonight." 

He sent Mac a suggestive grin and lifted the two glasses of coke from the bar. Turning towards the table where Mic and Jennifer sat her motioned for Mac to go first. 

"After you, Colonel."

Mac took her coke from his left hand and returned the grin. 

"No way Commander. After you." 

**

MONDAY 2135 HRS 

**HARM'S APARTMENT**

"I am not eating that." 

Harm raised his eyebrow towards Mac and looked down at the vegetarian lasagne sitting between Mac and him on the bench. He cross his hands across his chest, showing some sign of disappointment. 

"What does that mean?" he asked. "Its just lasagne. You've had it before." 

Mac sighed her eyes sparkling with laughter. She lifted the plate containing her slice of food towards her nose and sniffed it. 

"Come on Harm. I don't want to eat a vegetarian lasagne after what I went through tonight." She replied, the hint of whine present in her voice. "I want something juicy, thick, full of meat –" 

"And high in cholesterol." He chuckled, picking up his own plate, knife and fork and moving towards his kitchen table. 

Mac smiled incredulously and replaced the lasagne on the bench. She laughed and moved towards the table to join Harm. 

"What's wrong with cholesterol?" she asked jokingly. "At least I know that I'm not eating something that's been scraped out of the garden." 

Harm snorted as he took a bite out of his food. He lowered his fork away from his mouth and peered at Mac across the table. 

"Are you criticising my cooking?" 

"No I'm criticising your choice of food."  She retorted smartly. 

Harm peered at Mac quietly watching as the laughter left her eyes and she reached out for her drink. He slowly lowered the fork back onto the plate and pushed the plate away from him. 

"What's this really about?" he asked seriously eyeing her. "And don't give me any excuse or whines about me not letting you have a hamburger on the way home." 

Mac's mouth twitched and threatened to smile at the comment but she pushed it away. What was it really about? It was about the fact the she would be on the plane to Australia tomorrow accompanied by her partner and her ex fiancé. It was about the fact that suddenly she felt like she'd lost control of where she was going and now was being pushed along by Mic's murder case and Harm's willingness to help his former 'enemy'. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Mac looked away. She placed her drink back on the table and rubbed her eyes absentmindedly. 

"Can you excuse me for a second?" she asked dismally getting up from her seat and quickly dashing towards the bathroom. 

She flicked on the bathroom light and expertly closed the bathroom door in a flash. Breathing heavily she slumped against the back of the door for comfort. Why was she running? What was happening to her? Why had her usual strong will been thrown out the window since Mic walked through JAG's door early this morning? Angry with herself for loosing her head more than once in one day, Mac thumped her head against the back of the door. Why had getting together with Harm seemed to snowball bad luck?

In the kitchen Harm waited impatiently for Mac's return. He slowly lifted himself from his chair, grabbed hold of his half eaten lasagne and walked back towards the bench. He scooped his slice of lasagne onto Mac's plate and placed the two in the fridge. Listening intently as the sound of running water flooded the quite apartment, Harm leaned up against the kitchen bench. Today had been a long day – one he would rather bury along with bad experiences from the part. He felt guilty for pushing Mac to go meet Brumby and Jennifer tonight and he felt guilty for making her take the case. Although it wasn't directly his fault, Mac had actually admitted to him that she had only take the case so that he wouldn't get to far ahead of her. Furiously he kicked at the bench with his shoe. He was 39-years old for Christ's sake, why couldn't he get his act together? 

Mac let the water run through her hands before she turned the tap off. She grabbed for Harm's towel hanging on the towel rack and wiped her face and hands. Harm's strong smell of aftershave wafted across her face. She smiled slighting, wishing she could walk back out to the kitchen and engulf Harm in a embrace, but she knew given that tomorrow they would be back to Lt. Colonel Mackenzie and Commander Rabb on TAD, it wouldn't be right. Besides, if she did, she knew Harm would say something that would make her stay and all she felt like now was curling up in bed in a fluffy pair of pyjamas and getting a good night's sleep. Alone. Mac replaced the towel on the rack, gave herself a quick once over in the mirror, opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom. 

Harm jumped out of his trance as the bathroom opened with a quiet squeak. He looked up as Mac walked back into the room. She gave him a reassuring smiled. 

"I'm sorry about dinner." She apologised. "But rabbit food is not my thing." 

Harm smiled half-heartedly, taking the insult on board. 

"It wasn't rabbit food." 

Mac laughed quietly and moved toward the couch where her bag was. 

"I think I'd better get going." She stated, turned back around to face him. "After all, some of us are on our way to Australia tomorrow." 

Harm nodded, a disappointed smile taking position on his face. 

"Yeah. Some of us are." 

Mac nodded slowly and retrieved her cell phone from her bag. 

"I'll get a taxi home." She said softly punching in the number. 

Harm shook his head and joined her side in a matter of seconds. 

"Don't be silly. I'll drive you." He replied, grabbing his keys and jacket from near the door. "Besides if you caught a taxi you'd ask them to stop at the closest hamburger joint so that you could get some food." 

Mac laughed, as Harm opened the door for her and she replaced the cell back into her handbag.  

"I'm not that bad you know." She added, stepping out of the apartment and turning back to him as he closed and locked the door. 

Harm chuckled and placed a protective arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer as they walked down the corridor. 

"I know," he breathed, taking in the strawberry scent of her shampoo. "But I like to think that I'm watching your six." 

**

MONDAY 2200 HRS 

Harm snuck a glance at Mac out of the corner of his eye. She sat quietly in the passengers seat; head perched up against the door window watching the road. He could tell something was on her mind and he knew exactly what it was. Focusing back on the road in front of him, he frowned. 

"What do you think about Brumby's innocence plea? Legitimate?" 

Mac furrowed her brow and rubbed her eyes thinking. 

"I don't know." She relied unsure. "Maybe, but I think there is something he's not telling us." 

Harm nodded. 

"Considering we don't know much about the case, I think there is _a lot_ he's not telling us." 

Mac shifted in her seat and leant back against the headrest. She frowned in Harm's direction. 

"Do you think that Jennifer has anything to do with the Major's death? I mean her alibi is a little – shaky." Mac raised a brow. "She was asleep at the time Brumby arrived home and didn't wake until the next morning? Heavy sleeper or just a convenient sleeper?" 

Harm nodded.

"What about the fact that Brumby's fingerprints and DNA were found everywhere in the hotel room. What exactly was he doing in the Major's room anyway? She was on R and R and shouldn't have even been working with him." He replied sceptically. 

Mac smiled. 

"Maybe they were friend or colleagues of some sort. They would have to be pretty close for Brumby to be visiting her on R and R. There's definitely pieces missing to this story." 

Harm grunted in agreement.

"A lot of pieces it seems." He added quietly. "I think there is a lot more to this story than anyone dares to tell. We need to get a hold of some information and work out what the hell went wrong for an Australian Army Major to end up dead in her hotel room." 

Mac sighed as Harm turned the car down the familiar street to her apartment. He pulled up outside and turned off the ignition. 

"Are you going to be alright to make your way to your apartment by yourself or do you need my help?" he asked impishly, a suggestive grin on his face. 

Mac rolled her eyes and gathered her bag from the floor at her feet. She un-clicked the seatbelt and leaned forward to give him a quick kiss goodnight. 

"No such luck flyboy." She retorted, opening the Lexus' door. "I need to pack and there's no chance of that happening if you come in." 

Harm chuckled. 

"But there's change of other things." 

Mac rolled her eyes again and jumped out. 

" 'Night Harm." She replied softly, closing the door gently. 

Harm smiled contently as he watched her trek inside. 

"Night Mac," he whispered starting the ignition again and turning the car back towards home. 

**


	6. Australia

**Disclaimer: **Do I have to keep doing these? Lol. I mean you all know that I don't own JAG so what's the point? 

**AN:** Thanks to all reviewers. Just a quick note to Darklady who commented on the vegetarian Lasagne in last chappie – I realise that Harm is vegetarian and I upheld that by putting in vegetarian lasagne (it doesn't have any meat in it and therefore I am not guilty of committing any JAG crimes! Lol, so therefore as far as that fact goes, this story isn't AU. As for the actually part of Brumby showing up and everything – the story obviously is AU as I have set this in Season 8.)

Thanks again to everyone else who reviewed. Without you all I wouldn't be doing this, as I would have given up hope by now. 

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, but I spent some time researching International Flight and etc from Washington DC to Sydney and I had to do some other background research for other parts of the fic that are to come. I'm trying to make this story as acuate as possible and have been doing some extra JAG research for the hell of accuracy. 

Anyway, enjoy this chapter. I love writing this and there are some surprises to come. 

**_Summary: _** Harm, Mac and Mic jet set to Australia to start investigating Mic's innocence. 

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"Like a ghost don't need a key  
your best friend I've come to be.  
Please don't think of getting up for me  
you don't even need to speak.  
When I've been here for just one day  
you'll already miss me if I go away.  
So close the blinds and shut the door  
you won't need other friends anymore.  
Oh don't leave home

 Oh don't leave home." 

– Don't leave Home, Dido. 

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CHAPTER 5: RETURN TO AUSTRALIA (PART A) 

**MONDAY 2245 HRS **

MAC'S APARTMENT 

 **GEORGETOWN, DC**

Mac ambled into the kitchen, barefoot, covered head to toe in sweats and hungry for her definition of 'real food.' She opened the freezer, pulled out a large tub of chocolate ice cream and grabbed a spoon from the cutlery draw. She opened the tub of ice cream and dug the spoon straight into the centre, spearing a large piece of chocolate ice cream. Mac hurriedly placed the spoon in her mouth and savoured the taste. That was when she noticed the light on her answering machine flashing. 

Curious, she replaced the spoon into the ice cream and crossed around the other side of the bench towards the phone and answering machine. Hesitating for a moment, she gingerly flicked the playback button. 

Immediately Harm's voice flooded the room. 

"_Mac, It's Harm. I just received a call from Coates about the travel arrangements for tomorrow. Check in is at 0645 and the flight leaves around 0800 – I guess I'll see you there. Brumby will have all the files with him so we can spend sometime on the flight talking to him about O'Neil.  Anyway, sorry I had to ring so late – I was actually hoping that I could catch you and tell you all about Coates plans Headquarters while we're away. Guess I'll have to tell you tomorrow."_ The message held a pause._ "Goodnight Mac."_ Harm finished hanging up and leaving the beeping dial tone as conversation. 

The machine rewound the tape and click off automatically. Sighing, Mac diverted her eyes towards the ice cream. Her sudden urge for a sugar fix dissolved and she felt a knot of apprehension settle in her stomach. She was ashamed that she had been able to stare war in the face but couldn't find the 'courage' to face Mic and his case. She stalked back to the ice cream, withdrew the spoon from the tub and replaced the lid. She threw the spoon into the sink and returned the ice cream to the freezer. 

It was late enough; she didn't need sugar to keep her awake. Anymore. She scanned the kitchen quickly for any more clutter and satisfied that there was no cleaning up to be done, she locked the front door and turned off the remaining lights in the apartment. Sleep, was the only thought on Mac's mind and she unenthusiastically made her way towards her bedroom and empty bed. 

***

**TUESDAY 0630 HRS**

**DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT**

**WASHINGTON DC **

"You're early." Mac greeted Harm as she approached him in the flight lounge of the airport. "I thought you'd still be asleep at this hour." 

Harm grinned. 

"I usually am," he bantered, removing his luggage from the seat so that Mac could sit down across from him. "But I thought I'd be punctual for a change." 

Mac leered and dropped her luggage on the floor. She quickly smoothed her uniform and lowered herself into the seat. She took a quick look around, surveying for Brumby. 

"Where's Mic?" 

Harm closed the paper he had been reading before Mac had arrived and shrugged. 

"Don't know. He said he'd be here about 0645. What time is it now?"

"0630 and 6 seconds." 

Harm leered and sipped at his water. 

"Thank you Mr. Clock." 

"No problem." Mac smiled high spiritedly. "Get much sleep last night?" she asked surveying the lines around Harm's eyes. 

He looked like he'd been to hell and back through the night. Harm shook his head. 

"Not really. Kept trying to add pieces to Brumby's puzzle. Seems that doesn't work when you don't actually have any pieces to begin with." He mused. "If he doesn't divulge any information soon, we may have to bash it out of him." 

Mac smiled. 

"Aren't those your usual questioning techniques?" 

"Very funny Colonel." 

"Thank you Commander. I'm in top form today." 

"So I've noticed." He replied smartly. 

Mac leered. 

"At least you've noticed something."  

Harm cocked an eyebrow at her as a reply.

"What can I say? I was inspired by the 'bashing the information out of Brumby' idea," she banted in return. 

Harm chuckled and turned the bottle of water absentmindedly between his fingers.

"You would be." He replied. "You're not a Marine for nothing." 

Mac snorted indignantly. 

"And you wouldn't be?" she asked crossing her arms against her chest. "You said it first." 

Harm rolled his eyes and pulled himself up from the chair. 

"I think I need an aspirin. I'm already coming down with a headache." He mused loudly. "Pity there is no drug store here." 

Mac grinned and snuggled further into the cushioned chair.  

"I have some in my luggage if you want some?" she offered. 

Harm shook his head.

"No thanks. I'll be back in a moment." He said nodding towards the restroom. 

Mac nodded and grabbed Harm's paper from his vacant seat. 

"There is no hurry. Brumby's punctuality is just as bad as yours." She said engrossing herself in a headline on the front page. 

Harm shook his head amused and made towards the restroom. He was only gone for a couple of minutes before Mic announced his late arrival to Mac, in the form of a loud fake cough. Mac cocked an eyebrow and lifted her eyes from the outstretched paper in her hands. 

"Morning Sarah." He greeted, dropping his luggage at his feet. "Where's Rabb?" 

Mac nodded towards the restroom. 

"He'll be back soon." She said ineptly, "And you of all people know that it's Mac." 

Mic frowned and warily stuffed his hands in the pocket of his black slacks. 

"You never used to mind." He replied quietly. "What's changed?" 

Mac looked at him in disbelief. She quietly dropped the paper into her lap and focused all her attention to Mic. 

"A lot has changed Mic, you made sure of that." 

"What would you have me do Mac? You made it clear what you wanted. I only respected that." 

Mac gulped involuntarily and met his dark eyes. She glanced towards the restroom, breaking their gaze, before meeting his eyes again. 

"Where's Jennifer?" she asked, hastily changing the subject and picking up her paper again. "I thought she was coming with us." 

Mic sighed and sat down two seats away from Mac. He smiled gently. 

"She couldn't get a seat on the same plane so she's decided to stay in Virginia for another couple of days. She'll probably fly home on Thursday or Friday." 

Mac nodded. 

"She didn't even want to escort her dear Mickey to the airport?" she asked bravely, pretending to be distracted by the paper. 

Mic bit his lip, slightly despondently. He stared at Mac in resentment. 

"It's not like that Mac, and it's none of your business anyway." He replied crossly. 

Mac nodded sincerely. 

"I know." She replied. "But Jen is a big part of our investigation. How are we supposed to start if she's on a different continent?"

Mic smiled harshly. 

"I'm sure you and Rabb will come up with something." He snapped. "You always do."

Mac frowned. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked sadistically. 

"Nothing." He spat back. "You had the nerve to comment on my relationship, the least I could do was give you a piece of my mind." 

Mac folded the paper and tossed it into Harm's chair. 

"What exactly is your problem?" She asked bluntly. 

"What's yours?" He replied fiercely. 

Mac bit her lip. Man she hated him some times! He could be so – so – Harm like at times! 

"My problem?" she asked, eyes flashing. "Why do you care? If it's not obvious enough why bother!" 

"I can see that I'm the problem Mac. I'm asking what exactly is your problem with me that has you so fired up! You were exactly like this when I saw you yesterday in Chegwidden's office.  I didn't think you dwelled on hatred Mac." 

Mac stood and glared at Mic. 

"You have no right to enquire or even comment on my anger Mic!" She spat. "And as for hatred – it's well deserved."

Mic sighed. 

"What exactly does that mean?!" he asked wildly. "And you had no right to comment on my personal life and you did. You know what they say Mac – if you can't stand the heat – get out of the fire." 

"Kitchen." She corrected. "The term is 'kitchen'."

Mic frowned. 

"You get my point." 

Mac took a calming breath and straightened, looking Mic squarely in the eye. 

"You're right Mic – I do get your point. In fact I get your point so well that I'm leaving."  

Mac bend to her side, grabbed hold of her luggage and stalked off away from Mic as fast as her heeled feet could carrier her. Harm emerged from the restroom and almost ran smack bang into Mac and she stormed off. She didn't offer any words to explain her situation and just pushed past him, leaving him with a puzzled expression. He looked towards Brumby who sighed angrily and threw his hands up in the air. 

"Where's she going?" Harm asked picking his luggage from the floor and lifting it into his seat. 

Mic glared at Harm and dropped back into his chair. 

"Who knows," he commented. "Maybe back to her cave?" 

Harm cocked an eyebrow at Mic. 

 "Come on Mic, give her a break. She's just as uncomfortable as you are about this." 

Mic glared at Harm again.

"It'd be a whole lot less uncomfortable if she'd actually stay in the same space as me. I mean what goods it going to do when I can't even make civil conversation with my lawyer?" 

Harm shrugged and emptied the remaining water from the bottle into his mouth. 

"You know what Brumby? That is your problem not mine."

"Thanks Rabb."  

Harm smiled cockily – a smile reserved for Brumby only. 

"Anytime." 

***

TUESDAY 0755 HRS UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT UA9681 WASHINGTON TO SYDNEY (CONNECTING VIA TOKYO) DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, WASHINGTON DC 

Harm turned to watch Brumby climb aboard the plane behind him. Mic looked up and smiled weakly. Harm grimaced in return and turned to the Flight Attendant gazing at him. 

"Good morning Sir." She greeted sweetly. 

Harm grimaced and handed her his ticket. She read it quickly and smiled. 

"Row 27, seat B. That's on the right." She said politely. 

Harm nodded a thank you and grasped the handle of his bag tightly. He spotted Mac sitting idly in the window seat of Row 27. He walked towards the row, placed his hand held luggage in the luggage compartment and squished along the row until he came to his seat. 

"Hi." He greeted sitting down beside Mac. 

Mac turned her attention from the window and smiled weakly. 

"Hi." 

"You okay?" he asked, gazing at her. 

Mac nodded. 

"Fine. Just sit there for the whole journey okay?" she asked desperately.

Harm smiled. 

"Sure." 

Mac nodded thankfully. 

"Thanks." 

"Any time." 

"Where's Mic?" she asked bitterly. 

Harm smiled and nodded towards the front of the plane where Brumby could be seen chatting to the Flight Attendant. 

"Flirting." He stated simply, sitting back in his chair and fastening his seatbelt. 

Mac frowned. 

"I can't believe that I'm actually doing this!" she said in disbelief. "It's not as if he's going to appreciate it anyway." 

Harm frowned. 

"Since when did you do anything to be accepted and appreciated by Brumby?" he asked diplomatically. 

Mac glared at him. 

"You're siding with him aren't you?" she asked wildly, as Mic bid his goodbyes to the Flight Attendant and made his way towards them. 

Harm shook his head. 

"No." he whispered gently, making Mac smile. "I'm not siding with anyone." 

Mac shot him a glare and folded her arms across her chest in anger. 

"Typical." She breathed. "I can't believe you either." 

Harm grinned. 

"You still love me." He whispered. 

Mac shook her head. 

"No I don't." She added madly, staring out the window again. "You just think I do." 

Harm grinned again and rested his head back against the seat. He closed his eyes, and listened to the rustling of Brumby's luggage being locked away in the overhead locker and felt the movement of Mic lowering himself into the seat beside him. 

"These are for you." Brumby stated, holding out 2 unmarked folders towards Mac and Harm. 

Harm opened him eyes and took the folders from Brumby. 

"Case files?" he asked passing the top folder over to Mac. 

"Yeah." Mic replied blankly putting his seatbelt. 

Mac opened the folder and skimmed the first page. Just background information on O'Neil and an A5 colour photo displaying her in her uniform. She had short dark hair that came roughly to her chin, and soft brown eyes. Mac felt a sharp pain in her chest as she studied the picture more closely. If it wasn't for the fact the uniforms were obviously different, at first glance she would have though that she was looking at her own picture. From beside Harm, Mac heard Mic shift uncomfortable in his seat. 

"Uncanny isn't?" he asked softly, towards Mac. 

"What is?" Mac choked. 

"The resemblance that was between you and Megan?" 

"Megan?" Harm asked questioningly. 

"Major O'Neil." Brumby corrected, looking away. "You look very much alike." 

Mac shook her head. 

"No we don't." she laughed nervously, tucking the picture back into the file. 

She looked at Harm. His eyes displayed worry that didn't help with Mac's own initially shock. Looking away nervously, she tucked the file beside her on the seat, and closed her eyes. Was she right to be freaking out because the woman that Brumby had supposedly murdered looked exactly like her? She chewed over the situation for a few moments before the welcoming Flight Attendant's voice wafted over the plane's PA. 

"Good Morning passengers, my name is Jenny and I will be your supervisor on today's flight to Tokyo. Please make sure that all hand held luggage is tucked away in the overhead locker or is placed securely under the seat in front of you. Your seatbelts should be fastened tightly across your hips and they should stay on for the majority of the flight in case we encounter any turbulence-"

Harm snorted indignantly, which produced a small smile on Mac's face. 

"Maybe someone should give safety talks to your passengers before you take off." She said smartly, eyes still closed. 

Harm chuckled. 

"Why? We never encounter turbulence when I'm at the controls." 

Mac laughed. 

"You're kidding right?" she asked opening her eyes. 

Harm didn't reply, instead he smiled at her and tuned into the remainder of Jenny's routine speech. 

**CHAPTER TO BE CONTINUED ---**


	7. Australia 2

**AN:** Both the Chrisler Hotel and the town of Callahan are works on my imagination. Callahan is based on an actually town but most things associated with it are fictional. I just want to point that out mainly for the benefit for any fellow Aussies out there. 

-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*

"…. We're here and now, but will we even be again?

'Cause I have found,

All that shimmers in this world is sure to fade…

Away – again." – Shimmer, Fuel.

-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*-----*

**CHAPTER 5: WELCOME TO AUSTRALIA II**

**TUESDAY 2230 HRS **

**UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT UA9681 - WASHINGTON TO SYDNEY (CONNECTING VIA TOKYO)**

**TOKYO NARITA AIRPORT**

Mac surveyed the occupied flight lounge around her. Around the area, passengers were propped up against chairs reading magazines, books and newspapers while others, were stretched across two or three chairs, sleeping soundly. Other passengers had stumbled away towards the gift shops wanting something more to do that wait for the next leg of their journey. From where she sat, Mac could see Harm gathering 2 bottles of water from the food stand 100 metres away. Mic was stretched out across the row in front of her, head resting on his jacket and eyes closed firmly shut. He had been snoring loudly for 10 agonising minutes. 

"Here you go." Harm said, handing her a bottle of water, a chocolate bar and a packet of chips upon his return. "Thought you might be hungry." 

Mac smiled and took his gifts willingly. 

"Yum, junk food – my favourite." She joked, placing them in her lap and removing the deserted folder from the chair directly beside her so that Harm could sit down. 

"Thought that would raise your spirits." He said dropping into the seat, and pulling Mac into his chest. 

Mac snuggled in against Harm and rested her head underneath his chin. She had to admit; it felt good to be back in his arms. She sighed contently and ripped the wrapper off the chocolate. 

"Nice to see that Brumby's sharing his sleep with us." Harm said lazily, nodding towards Brumby. "Let's hope the walls of the hotel room are thick." 

Mac smiled, nibbling at her chocolate. 

 "I can tell you, it gets worse." Mac leered. "_Poor_ Jennifer." She added unsympathetically. 

Harm smiled absentmindedly and rested his head against the top of Mac's. He closed his eyes briefly; warn out from the first flight and hoping to catch a bit of sleep before the second. 

"What exactly _is_ you're problem with Jennifer?" he asked softly, after a few moments had passed. 

Mac shrugged, not knowing how to reply. She didn't even know the woman but she was sure that she didn't like her. She remembered the bitter comment she had made to Mic earlier that day and a twinge of guilt struck her in the stomach. She wasn't jealous – she knew she could stay far away from that explanation – but Mac had an idea that it had something to do with Jennifer Gallagher's supposed alibi. It struck her as unusual to think that she wouldn't have noticed Brumby return. She knew from experience that he was a clumsy as anything when trying to act quiet, so she surely would have heard something. Letting her mind continue to reel from a combination of jet lag, chocolate and overall excitement, Mac settled into Harm's embrace more comfortably, and allowed a simple reply. 

"Frankly, I don't trust her." She replied flatly. 

**

**WEDNESDAY – TIME UNKNOWN **

**SYDNEY KINGSFORD SMITH AIRPORT**

Mic hauled his luggage from the luggage carousel and placed it gingerly on the trolley next to Harm and Mac's already collected luggage. He forced a smile and dug into his jacket pocket. 

"Do you mind if I make a quick phone call? I'll just check if we've got the reservations at the hotel for tonight." he asked gesturing to the cell phone he had dug from the confines of his clothing.

Mac shrugged. 

"Not at all. We'll just wait outside." 

Mic nodded a reply and hit the speed dial while Harm took hold of the trolley and followed Mac towards the exit. The pair stepped out into to rain of Sydney and quickly took cover in a small under covered area outside the wall of electric doors. 

"What I wouldn't give for a shower and a sleep right now." Mac breathed smiling at Harm. "What do you think?" 

Harm leered. 

"I think I need to change out of my drool covered clothes." He said, smoothing his uniform. "And what do you need sleep for? That's the reason I got the drool in the first place." 

Mac smiled thoughtfully and crossed her arms across her chest. 

"I don't drool." She replied bluntly, a smile still creeping onto her lips. 

Harm shook his head incredulously. After a few moments he too was smiling. 

"Don't drool. That's a lie." He looked over his shoulder half hoping for Mic to emerge so they could get out of the airport and to a hotel. Turning back to Mac he added, "Why don't we try and get a cab or something. Surely Brumby won't be that long." 

"Sure." 

Mac didn't move. Neither did Harm. 

"Well are you getting a cab or what?" 

Mac raised her brow. 

"I'm not getting wet. You get the cab." 

"I don't want to get wet either and besides I'm looking after the luggage. Don't be so difficult." 

"Difficult?" Mac mused. 

Harm grinned. 

"That's what I said. Are you going to get the cab or stand here and fight with me about it all day?" 

Mac frowned, pretending to be annoyed at Harm's antics. 

"I'm going to stand here all day watching you _try_ to boss me around. Since when did I take orders from you Commander?" 

Harm rolled his eyes and moved away from the luggage trolley perched between them. He stalked towards the open pavement and into the rain to get the cab. 

"Bloody Marine." He muttered as the rain started to get heavier and begin to pour. 

After a couple minutes of standing in the rain, waiting for the incoming cabs to drop their passengers, collect their fares and move on to the outgoing crowd, Harm finally succeeded in drawing in the attention of a sympathetic cab driver. He turned back towards where he had left Mac only to find her and Brumby standing contently by the door smirks on their faces and clothing completely dry. Shaking his head amused, Mic moved forward, covering his civvies with his leather jacket and heading towards the front passengers door of the cab. Wet and suddenly low-spirited by the cold rain, Harm trudged back to Mac to help her with the luggage. Mac smirked at Harm as he returned. 

"Guess you don't need the shower then." She said simply, looking him up and down and then moving slightly so that Harm could take control of the trolley. 

Harm forced a smile. 

"Just get in the cab." He replied bluntly making Mac's smile bigger. 

Unamused, Harm sighed and pushed the luggage towards the cab – dodging Mac who expertly jogged towards the cab avoiding any rain drops at all. Muttering to himself Harm offered a quiet "Welcome back to Hell," to himself before diving into the warmth and dryness of the cab. 

**

**WEDNESDAY – 1815 HRS **

**CHRISLER HOTEL - NEAR SYDNEY HARBOUR**

The early evening darkness crept through the windows letting the nightlife of Sydney waft through Mac's hotel room window. Lying contently curled up under the covers of her bed in fresh clothing, Mac swore she could smell the takeaway from the shop down the street. In fact she was so hungry she could almost _taste_ the food from the takeaway shop down the street. Mustering her new energy from her afternoon sleep Mac tentatively pulled herself up from underneath the covers and traipsed towards her hotel room door. She opened it quickly and strode across the hallway to Harm's room. Considering Mic didn't know about the relationship between Harm and Mac – he did have his suspicions but didn't bother voicing them – he had checked them in and instinctively requested the three rooms one of his colleagues had booked the day before.  Mac didn't have a problem having a room to herself for the afternoon – Harm after all was still pretty moody about the rain incident at the airport – but beginning to get used to the fact of sleeping only on the left hand side of the bed and sharing it with Harm was a comfort she enjoyed too much to pass up. She knocked heavily on Harm's door and folded her arms across her chest waiting for Harm's surfacing. Mac counted 2 and a half minutes before Harm answered the door – shirtless and tousled hair. 

"Good afternoon." He greeted, stepping away from the doorway allowing Mac a passage to walk in. 

Mac noted Harm's ruffled hair, and crumpled bedding – he too had spent the afternoon sleeping. 

"Hey. Enjoy your sleep?" She asked walking straight towards Harm's mini bar and fridge and grabbing a can of lemonade. 

Harm shrugged and disappeared into the adjoining bathroom. 

"It was better than the nap on the aeroplane anyway. I had more room." 

The sound of running water flooded the room and was quickly turned off again as Harm rinsed his face to wake himself up. He grabbed hold of a hand towel and dried his face and hands before returning to Mac's company. 

"So how was your nap?" he asked pulling Mac into an affectionate embrace. "And your shower?" 

"Refreshing." She bantered playfully. "I almost fell asleep in the shower I was that tired." 

Harm nodded. 

"Me too. Seen Brumby since we checked in?" he asked, kissing her lightly on the forehead and then pulling away to grab his shirt from the bed. 

Mac shook her head and flopped down on the bed being careful not to spill her drink. 

"No not really. He said that he was going for a walk to pick up some food and clear his head. He wasn't really tired – like he would be after snoring all the way from Tokyo to Sydney." 

Harm snorted and pulled his grey sweater over his head. 

"It stopped raining about an hour ago." He mused. "Maybe Brumby had the chance to get wet." 

Mac smiled. 

"Are you still on about that?" she asked suppressing a laugh. "I thought you would be." 

"Well," Harm laughed. "I wasn't very amused at the time. Speaking of time – what time is it?" 

"Roughly about 1820." She replied taking a sip of her lemonade. "So what's on the agenda for tonight? Meeting? Interrogation? Murder investigation?" 

Harm leered. 

"I was thinking more along the lines of sitting Brumby down and getting a few things cleared up about his case. I mean we are after all flying up to Callahan tomorrow to start interviewing some on O'Neil's colleagues. You know the drill." 

Mac nodded. 

"Sound like fun." She added cheerfully. "Where exactly is Callahan?" 

Harm pulled a fact sheet from beside his bed. 

"I was looking at this before. The sheet says that Callahan is a small seaside town up on the coast of central Queensland. They've had Army and Navy personal stationed there for about 6 months now. Something about training and community bonding. Basically they're trying to get the military know around the country and everything. That's what I gather anyway." 

Mac nodded, taking in the information. 

"So Mic was stationed up there during the time of O'Neil's death?" she asked. 

Harm nodded. 

"According to this." He said gathering a foreign folder from beside his bed. "Brumby gave this to me before he went food hunting this afternoon. It's got his side of the story and a few pieces of background information in it. I had a flick through it – he's gone to some work to get his side documented. I've never seen anything like it the whole time I've been working at JAG." 

Mac knotted her brow staring at the folder in Harm's hand like it was a piece of trash. 

"Is it legitimate?" she asked concerned, rising from the bed and taking the folder from Harm. 

Harm studied her for a couple of minutes. 

"From what I've read – yes. The Army doesn't know much about O'Neil's murder. She was a highly-strung Major – had some pretty big faults in her career and has been dragged over the coals a few times. Aside from that, she was well known around the base in Callahan and in the Callahan community. She spoke at career talks at the schools and all the sort of thing. The only thing I don't understand is how she knew Brumby." 

Mac shrugged and looked up at Harm. 

"You said she was pretty well know around Callahan and the base. Maybe they met there. You know what I mean." She said waving her hand slightly. "Maybe they met at dinner once, on a training exercise-" she raised a brow and smiled. "Career tutors maybe." 

Harm let a low sigh escape his mouth and rubbed his eyes disbelieving. 

"Yeah, maybe. I still think that there is something more there, though – and Mic's not exactly helping. Have you noticed that whenever you walk into the room he's itching to walk out?" 

Mac nodded grimly. 

"Sort off. I guess that's why he gave you this information instead of me. I mean you'd think I was here for a holiday while you do everything." She replied bitterly. 

"It's not like that." Harm said. "It more of the thought that O'Neil looked so much like you." 

Mac frowned. 

"That's not a good enough reason. He turned up at JAG asking for my help-"

"Our help." Harm corrected. 

Mac glared. 

"Our help - and now's he's acting like he doesn't want me to be here." She took a look around the 4 star hotel room. "And despite the mini bar, the short break and you – I wouldn't be." 

Harm smiled.

"You're not here for the mini bar, the break or even me, Mac. You're here because you're a good lawyer and you're doing your job. Show Brumby that you're past is behind you and you're here to help him as a friend and as his legal representation." 

Mac lowered her ashamed eyes to the ground. 

"Since when are you the one who's right?" she asked softly. 

Harm chuckled. 

"Since now." He squeezed her affectionately on the shoulder. "Don't make me go through anything that sappy again." 

Mac laughed. 

"Yeah, the 'good' lawyer remark. Is that all I am?" she joked, studying Harm. 

Harm rolled his eyes. 

"How about _great _lawyer." 

"Tell it like it is flyboy." 

"You're an excellent lawyer Mac and you know it." He added, a wide grin across his face. 

Mac nodded. 

"Damn straight flyboy and don't you forget it." She replied flashing a grin. 

Harm chuckled. 

"I know you won't let me anyway." 

Mac grinned and looked towards Harm's unmade bed. She dropped the file on the floor and placed the can of drink down beside it. 

"Is your bed as comfy as mine?" She asked sitting down and bouncing up and down slightly. 

Harm shrugged and folded his arms across his chest. 

"Don't really know – and I don't want to even think about what you're thinking. Brumby will be back any minute and frankly, I'd prefer not to be caught by him in that situation." 

Mac's grin softened into a smile.

"Do you think he knows?" she asked. 

Harm frowned and shook his head. 

"Do you think he cares?" 

"That's a better point." She replied deflated. 

Harm moved towards Mac. 

"These walls are pretty thin you know." 

Mac laughed. 

"I thought you said that you weren't thinking about it." 

Harm chuckled. 

"I'm not." Mac arched a brow at him. "Ok, so I am – but I'm not acting on it." 

Mac rose from her spot and walking slowly towards Harm. 

"That's a shame." She said softly, kissing his gently. "Actions speak louder than words." 

Harm nodded and pulled Mac closer. 

"Mmmmhhh." He mumbled against her lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I bet." 

Harm kissed her slowly along her jaw line, making his way towards her neck. Mac grinned as he reached the spot beneath her ear. 

"Any minute," she gulped. "We should have started earlier-" 

As if on cue, a knock sounded on the door. Harm grinned and planted a final kiss on Mac's lips. 

"I hate when I'm right," he groaned moving towards the door. 

Regaining composure Mac picked up the new file from the ground and moved towards the small arm chair placed to the side of the room. Harm opened the door and Brumby stalked in carrying a plastic takeaway bag. He surveyed the room – as if summing up the differences between his and Harm's room. Unsatisfied with his observation, Brumby snorted. 

"I swear my room is smaller." He said obviously a little put out. 

Mac rolled her eyes, which went unnoticed by Mic. 

"And those are things that count." She muttered, opening the file. 

Mic nodded. 

"You'd be surprised." He added, shutting the door behind him. 

Harm nodded and trudged towards the mini bar. 

"Drink?" he asked looking around at Mac and Mic. 

Mic and Mac both shook their heads. 

"I'm fine - mines on the floor beside the bed." 

Brumby did a double take, noted the ruffled bed and shook his head. If he felt guilty for interrupting something, he didn't show it and instead he too planted himself down in one of the small armchairs in Harm's room. Mac sniffed the takeaway bag as it drew nearer. Hotdog. She looked towards Harm who was already grimacing at the smell. 

"So what's on the cards for tonight? The first and last night in Sydney for now. How about a ferry ride? Or a walk along the harbour? It's quite nice out now – a few people around but it's something not to be missed. I wouldn't want to have you guys bailed up in here for my sake when we can get some work done tomorrow." 

Mac looked up from the file in her lap. 

"We have work to do." She replied bleakly. "We've side stepped this for a few days now. When exactly is you're hearing?" 

Mic grimaced. 

"3 weeks from tomorrow." 

"Right," Harm began moving into the conversation. "3 weeks to prove you're innocence, piece of cake." 

Brumby glared. 

"You believe I'm innocent don't you?" he asked loudly switching his gaze between them. 

Harm nodded. 

"We do and we think that there is a lot behind the Major's murder. The thing we want to know the most is how did you know her? Were you friends? Colleagues? What? How do you come to be the supposed last person to see her alive." 

Mic bowed his head slightly and dropped his bag of takeaway beside his chair. He let a low sigh escape and knitted his fingers together into a steeple and drummed them against his lips. After a couple of seconds of clear thinking he looked up to meet Harm and Mac's eye. 

"How long do you have exactly? I guess I'd better start at square one." 

Mac wriggled deeper into her seat, and pulled her legs up underneath her. Harm settled for grabbing a chair from the small 4-seater table to the front of the room and sitting down. 

"We have all night." Mac replied quietly. "And we want to know everything you can give us. The more we know the better the chance we have at proving your innocence. "

"Or lack there of." Harm muttered to himself – as comment that went unnoticed by Mac and Mic and one that spiked a wave of guilt on his behalf.  

**

AN: Well that's all for this chapter. Stay tuned for Chapter 6: WISHFUL THINKING, which will be up when I get around to it. It's really late as I post this so please forgive me for any errors. I edited like hell but some still slip past my error nets. See ya. 


	8. Wishful Thinking

_A wise man once said to me, _

_If you heart don't break it won't be free. _

_Well I'm as free as a bird,_

_Flying out over, _

_Flying out over the sea. – This mountain, Kasey Chambers.   _

LIFE FOR RENT CHAPTER 6: WISHFUL THINKING 

**WEDNESDAY 1905 HRS **

**CHRYSLER MOTEL – SYDNEY HARBOUR **

ROOM 457 

Michael Brumby gulped down the last mouthful of his third scotch. He placed the glass on the table with a loud 'clunk' and lowered his gaze to his left hand curled in his lap. 

"I didn't kill Megan O'Neil." He said heavily, lifting his blood shot eyes to Mac, who was sitting the closest to him. "I wouldn't have killed her. I adored her - she was a good friend of mine. I just can't believe that everything points to me." He took a deep breath. "I had no _motive_ to kill her." 

Across the room, Harm lifted himself from his chair, and made his way towards where Mic and Mac were sitting. 

"If you didn't kill her Mic, who did?" He asked quietly, pushing Mic for an answer. 

Mic turned to Harm. 

"I don't know, Rabb!" He yelled heatedly, letting the scotch take hold of his thinking. "For the past month, that's all I've been able to think about, and I'm not coming any closer to an answer! She had no enemies – none that I knew of anyway. Everyone in her unit seemed to adore her; the men admired her and the woman followed her examples." He rubbed his eyes, taking a moment to pause and regain his composure. 

 "How well did you know the Major?" Mac asked, changing the direction of the argument. 

Mic sighed and folded both hands into his lap. 

"Very well. I'd been on joint exercises and community liaisons with her. We'd become really good friends – she was someone that I had first met on my posting to Callahan and we'd hit it off almost instantly. She'd been through some heavy things – both before and after her posting to the Callahan base." 

"Heavy things?" Mac confirmed. "What exactly is meant by that?" 

"She'd been involved with a senior member of her original unit. That had caused and uproar and she was shifted to a new unit far away from the guy she'd become involved with. They were engaged when I first met them – the three of us had all been posted to Callahan at the same time." Mic replied dully, as if it was as exciting as watching paint dry. 

Despite this, Mac had other ideas. She rose from her seat and began pacing the room. 

"What happened between her and this other officer?" Mac asked as she continued to pace back and forth. "Her file said nothing about a husband or partner." 

Mic grimaced – a sigh that Harm and Mac instantly took in. 

"Well the 'file' is technically wrong." He replied bitterly. "Megan married the officer – Lieutenant Colonel Adam Williams, but that was short lived. They broke up after about 4 months." He grimaced again. "Williams served her the divorce papers the day of her murder." 

Harm nodded grimly and raised a suspicious brow.    

"Williams? Could he have murdered O'Neil? What do you know about him exactly?" Harm said, firing questions as they sprung to mind. 

Mic shook his head dully. 

"No such luck to pin it on him. Lieutenant Colonel Adam Williams was 300 kilometres from Callahan at the time of her murder. He'd been out there 2 weeks prior to her death and stayed out there for a week following. He was on a training exercise with 45 other officers. All can vouch for him for those three weeks." 

Harm sighed, turning to Mac who was still pacing- listening to Mic's words. 

"Can't hurt to ask him a few questions. Maybe he knows something about the Major's personal life that we don't." Mac stopped suddenly, crossing her arms across her chest and turning directly to Mic. "To be blunt, what were you doing exactly in the Major's motel room?"  

 "I'd befriended the Major ever since the posting. She rung me, the night of the murder, and she asked me to join her for a drink. She was really distressed over the phone and since Jennifer was working late, I decided to leave her a note and go and have a drink with her. We talked for a good couple of hours, about failed relationships-" he looked faintly at Mac, " and about her failed marriage." Mic sighed heavily. "At around 2300 hours, I left Megan's room and had a quick drink at the bar on my way out. I then drove home. It took me about 20 minutes to get from her motel to home. When I got home, I locked up and when straight to bed. Jennifer was already asleep and she looked like she had been for some time." He glanced around at Mac and Harm again. "And that was that. I woke up the next morning to a phone call from the police. The publican had found Megan's room door open and her dead at 0500 hours the next morning. I was the last one seen there – meaning I was the first suspect." 

Mac took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes casually. She didn't know what to make of Mic's situation. Sensing a heavy silence, Mic finished pouring his drink and returned to his chair. 

"I didn't kill her." He repeated, taking a sip of his drink. "I swear I didn't kill her." 

"Swearing isn't enough to prove your innocence, Mic." Harm said harshly. "The ways things are, leaves everything pointing to you. All we have right now in your defence is your word – and trust me – that doesn't account for much with a judge." He studied Mic questioningly. "Do you think that Lieutenant Colonel Williams had anything to do with it at all-" 

Mic made to speak, but Harm raised his hand – a gesture for Mic to stop. 

"I know he didn't have contact with Major O'Neil before her death – but that doesn't mean he didn't get someone else to kill her." 

"Harm" Mac cut off tersely. "I think we're getting a bit wild here." She said raising a thin brow. "We don't know much about Lieutenant Colonel Williams – except that he was on a training operation at the time of the Major's death. If he hired someone to kill her-" she looked at Harm disbelieving, "then how exactly did he make contact with him or her?" 

Harm frowned and stalked away from Mic and Mac. 

"I don't know. I was just thinking out loud – I'm trying to get everything to make sense." he replied wildly, making Mic and Mac exchange an identical glances. "We're in the middle of a case where the only suspect claims that he didn't do it because he adored the woman he has supposedly killed. There isn't much to work with here." 

Bitterly, Mic shoved another mouthful of scotch into his mouth. He swished the alcohol around trying to savour the taste and try to stop himself from punching Harmon Rabb in the mouth. He knew he was being irrational and in all honesty it was probably better if he called the conversation a night. Rigidly he pulled himself up out of his chair and once again emptied the scotch glass in a shot. 

"If you don't have an objections, I think I'll hit the sack." He said numbly, watching for Rabb's confirmation that his idea of an interrogation was over. 

Harm nodded sturdily and rose from his own chair. 

"Of course." He said, following Mic towards the door. "Probably for the best if we leave it here for now." 

Mic grimaced in reply and opened the door. 

"Yeah. 'Night." He said grimly before leaving the room and pulling the door closed in Harm's face.

Harm stood staring at the door for a few seconds before turning and looking at Mac in disbelief. 

"What the hell is going on here?" 

Mac shrugged heavily and got steadily out of her chair. 

"He was in love with her." She said bluntly, gathering Mic's glass from the table and moving towards the bathroom to rinse it in the sink. "He didn't kill her Harm." She called. 

Harm followed her to the doorway and leaned himself against the doorframe. 

"Come on Mac," he reasoned, watching her. "Just because you love someone, it doesn't mean that you didn't or couldn't kill them. Everyone is capable of murder when it all comes down to it." 

Mac shook her head idly. She rinsed the glass, gave it a shake to remove the excess water and then sat it down on the sinks edge. 

"I know. I just get this feeling that this is different." 

"Feeling?" Harm asked, cocking a brow. "What type of feeling exactly?"

Mac grimaced and pushed past him making her way back into the motel room. 

"Call it intuition." She replied smartly, doing a quick sweep of Harm's motel room and removing some of the mess that had accumulated.  

"Woman's intuition. Great, let's call your intuition as evidence when we're in court shall we? _"The defence calls Colonel Mackenzie's Intuition to the stand."_ Why didn't I think of that before?" He replied wildly, stalking towards his bed and flopping down on to it. "We've got a great chance in proving Mic innocence with that." 

Mac looked at Harm in amazement. 

"Will you lighten up?" She replied wearily. "My god, I didn't think that you were actually taking this so seriously. I guess you proved me wrong." 

"That'd be a first." He muttered rubbing his eyes. "No one can compete with a woman's intuition." 

Mac sighed heavily and rested her hands on her hips. 

"This is precisely why it has taken us the better part of seven or eight years to get together." She replied, raising her brow. "Are you quite done yet? I have no idea what's gotten in to you." 

Harm sighed letting a large amount of air escape his lips. He closed his eyes trying to relieve the stress of Mic's case.

"Neither do I." He replied. "I'm sorry." 

Mac nodded. 

"Don't be." She said taking a seat beside him on the bed. "I guess it sounds stupid but I do have an _inkling _that he wouldn't have done it because he loved her." 

"How can you be so sure?" Harm asked meeting her eye. "At the moment there is no one else." 

Mac nodded slowly. 

"You're right. At the moment there is no one else and yes I know that you still doubt him but Harm, look at it this way. If Mic Brumby was capable of murder he would have killed you or me before Major O'Neil." 

Harm chuckled. 

"That's real comforting." He sighed. "Should I lock my windows and doors tonight in case he decides that he should have gotten rid of me long ago?" 

Mac gave Harm a harsh look. One that settled guilt in his chest. She was right. Mic Brumby wasn't capable of murder. There had to be someone else that they were overlooking. Then it came to him. Jennifer Gallagher. 

"Ok so let's say that Mic was in love with Megan O'Neil and didn't murder her. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. All the same, if Mic was in love with O'Neil, why was he engaged and getting ready to marry Jennifer Gallagher?" Harm asked, rolling over to his side and facing Mac. 

Beside him, Mac lowered her head sadly. If she was right, she knew exactly why Mic was engaged to Jennifer rather than Megan. 

"You know so much better than that Harm." She said softly, meeting his eye. "Things change and sometimes they don't even have to change to turn wrong. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions about Mic and the Major. I mean he didn't exactly reveal that information." She sighed. "I guess that brings us back to square one-" 

"Mic's the major suspect." They said together in unison. 

Harm rolled back on to his back and glanced around the room. He didn't know what to think. Was Mic guilty? Was he not guilty? Being caught in an impossible case was starting to take toll on him. 

"Are you hungry?" He asked, sitting up. "Because I desperately need food of some kind or I'm going to go crazy." 

Mac smiled. 

"When am I ever not hungry?" She asked, slowing rising from the bed. "I'll just go and get changed and meet you in the corridor in about 10 minutes. How about we go for a walk and see what we can find?" 

Harm nodded. 

"Sounds good." He replied following her to the door. "But-" he warned, raising a brow. "No steak houses or anything like that." 

Mac chuckled. 

"Fine flyboy," she replied opening to door. "You choose what's on tonight's menu." 

**

**WEDNESDAY 2005 HRS **

SYDNEY QUAY – SYDNEY HARBOUR 

"Why do you still believe that he's guilty?" Mac asked, taking a bite out of her kebab. 

Walking along the harbour beside her, Harm sighed and took a drink from his water. 

"Haven't we talked about Brumby enough for one night?" 

Mac rolled her eyes and stopped to fold up the rubbish from her dinner and place it in a nearby bin. Harm walked to the side of the harbour walkway and leaned out on the wooden rail letting the crisp harbour air lap at his face. He had to admit, Sydney was a beautiful city. Mac approached him from the left and settled herself beside him, also letting the harbour take her in. 

"If we were on a ferry, this would feel like déjà vu." She mused, pulling her coat tightly around her. 

Harm nodded slowly, not taking his eyes of a boat making it way across the harbour. 

"Except this time," he said softly, "I wouldn't back away." 

Mac smiled. 

"Good to know sailor. Good to know." 

Harm chuckled quietly and pulled Mac close. 

"It should be." He replied. "You know how I've felt about you for a long time." 

Mac nodded. 

"I know how you've felt about a lot of things. And while we're there – why do you still think that Brumby's guilty?" 

Harm cocked an eyebrow. 

"You're not going to drop it are you?" He asked doubtfully. 

Mac grinned. 

"Have I even dropped things easily in the past? No. I'm not. Now answer the question." She laughed. 

"I don't think that Brumby is guilty Mac. You know it's my job to believe that he's innocent but things don't fit and there are other things missing. The hearing isn't that far away and we still have a lot of work to do. I feel like we're running out of time and I hate that. I want it worked out now and I want time to figure out what Lieutenant Colonel Adam Williams has to do with everything." He rambled. "I also want a chat to Jennifer Gallagher. Find out about her. Where she works, what she does and what she was doing on the night of Major O'Neil's murder." 

Mac blinked, taking in Harm's ramble. 

"You think that Jennifer Gallagher has anything to do with this?" She asked seriously. 

Harm shrugged. 

"I don't know," he said moving away from the sidewalk rail, "but like we said before, it can't help to check everyone out." 

Mac nodded and followed Harm as he began the walk back to their motel. She slipped her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. 

"You know, I think this case is going to drive you crazy." She said lightly flashing him a grin. "And I've never seen you become so involved with anything that Mic Brumby is involved with." 

Harm nodded. 

"Brumby doesn't exactly have a choice in this matter." He replied meekly. " And neither do I." 

**


	9. Twisting the Knife

_ ----                                                                                                                                        _

"You can't manufacture a miracle  
the silence was pitiful that day.  
A love is getting too cynical  
Passion's just physical these days  
You analyse everyone you meet  
But get no sign, love ain't kind  
every night you admit defeat   
and cry yourself blind…  
  
If you can't wake up in the morning  
Cause your bed lies vacant at night  
If you're lost, hurt, tired or lonely  
Can't control it, try as you might  
May you find that love that won't leave you  
May you find it by the end of the day  
You won't be lost, hurt, tired and lonely  
Something beautiful will come your way…" – Something Beautiful, Robbie Williams. 

_ -------_

LIFE FOR RENT CHAPTER SEVEN: TWISTING THE KNIFE 

**WEDNESDAY 1200 HRS **

**A COFFEE SHOP IN WASHINGTON**

The sapphire blue eyes of Jennifer Gallagher swept across the recent edition of the Washington Post. Nothing of pure interest jumped out at her but she continued skimming for the sake of keeping her mind busy. 

It had been one day, Washington time, since Mic had returned to Australia flanked by his so called saviours, Colonel Sarah MacKenzie and Commander Harmon Rabb, and Jennifer was finding it hard to concentrate on her work at hand. Originally, her trip to Washington had been to accompany Mic over and return home to work as soon as possible. Only those plans had changed when a new travel article had come up and Jennifer had jumped at the chance to do a three-page spread in _Getaway_ on Washington and surrounding sites. 

She had heard about the job through a colleague who had brought it up during a little tête-à-tête in the break room. This had become the chance of a lifetime for Jennifer, who was rather limited in her currently writing job at the local community newspaper in Callahan. Doing the Washington story may have just been the thing that helped her 'get back into' the wide world of journalism. 

'Get back into' being the operative phrase. Some years ago, after graduating from the University of Melbourne, Jennifer had packed up her things and moved to Sydney to work at Australia's wide read newspaper _The Australian. _Her career at _The Australian _was short lived, and 10 months after taking the position Jennifer found herself living in a rundown one bedroom apartment in Sydney, working as a photographic assistance to a freelance photographer. 

It wasn't until three years later, after going home to a small country town on the outskirts on Melbourne, Jennifer started writing again. Some time after that, while holidaying in Sydney, Jennifer had met (at that time) Lieutenant Commander Michael Brumby and everything in her life had changed again. 

Eighteen months later, she was sitting in a coffee shop in Washington writing the story to re-launch her writing career while back on the other side of the world, in a different hemisphere, her fiancé was being investigated of murder. 

Jennifer felt something stir inside of her at the thought of Megan O'Neil's death. She had known Megan and her murder had taken an uneasy toll on her, Mic, their relationship and the community of Callahan. Truth be told, Jen wanted to stay as far away as possible from Callahan until Mic's hearing in 2 weeks. There were many people in Callahan who supported Mic over the alligations but there were also some who had decided that Mic was down right guilty and should be locked up and the key thrown away. That's what Jennifer had put her running away down to – the fact that she couldn't deal with the gossip of a country town like Callahan. 

She let a low exasperated sigh escape her lips, as the young raven haired waitress delivered her third cup of coffee. She gently smiled a thank you, folded up the Washington Post and pulled her cell phone from her coat pocket. Jennifer keyed 2 on speed dial and waited for the equally Australian accent to answer. 

Across the world, Mic Brumby's motel room alarm clock ticked over to 3 am. His quite snores filled the room and at his beside table his Nokia cell phone began to flash and buzz. Mic woke and dived for the cell. He stifled a yawn as he answered. 

"'Ello?" 

Jennifer frowned. The 15-hour time difference had slipped her mind. She winced inwardly. "Mic?" She said apologetically. "Sorry, I totally forgot what time it would be there. It must be-" she stole a glance at her watch, "close to 3 am."

Mic sighed tiredly. "It _is_ 3 am. Anyway luv, you know it's ok. How are you? How's Washington?" He asked lying back against his pillow and rubbing his eyes. 

Jennifer shrugged.  "You know how things are. Busy, busy, busy. I've spent this morning working and I'm sitting down for a coffee and lunch. How was your flight?"

 "Remind me to never fly back and forth in the same week. I'm a bit disorientated to tell the truth. The flight was ok though. We got here about midday and then I spent most of the afternoon sleeping. I went out, had a bite to eat and then sat down with Mac and Harm this evening and went through a few necessaries before we fly home tomorrow." 

Jennifer nodded and sat forward in her seat while absentmindedly stirring her coffee. 

"So you are heading up there tomorrow? Have you spoken to the Admiral? Are you going back to work yet?" 

"I spoke to him before I left Washington on Tuesday. He basically suggested that if I walk back into base I'd be shoved into a corner in the administration office where I'll be sat under a tonne of paperwork, filing and admin duties. If that's what you call work, well then yes I am." He said bitterly, scratching at the doona cover. "Apparently Detective Matthews wants another 'word' with me too. I can see how that's going to turn out." 

Jennifer quietly chewed her lip trying to think of a subject change. Obviously going back to work was still a touchy subject with Mic. He'd been denied access to the base since Major O'Neil death and that had basically killed him. He was the only suspect and therefore his name in Callahan and basically those who knew him in other places meant mud. 

"So…" She said hastily, "Are you going to check Harm and Mac into the _Majestic_?" 

The Majestic was the only hotel/motel that Callahan had to offer. 

Mic grimaced and lifted himself up onto one elbow. "Actually I was meaning to chat to you about that." He said calmly. 

Jennifer took a small sip at her coffee. "Why do I have a feeling you're going to tell me something I don't want to hear?" She asked, raising an eyebrow into her cell. 

"Jen, I just don't think that it's an entirely good idea for Mac and Harm to bunk at the _Majestic_. Not after everything, it's a little too ironic. I think that it would be much easier and more convenient if we pulled out the sofa in the office and threw a fresh set of sheets on the spare bed." 

"Easier?" Jennifer snorted. "Convenient? For who Mic? Us or them?" She said slightly put out. "Wouldn't that start World War three under our roof?" 

"We survived the plane trip over didn't we?" He replied. "Jen … Jennifer… _please_ understand. I want to be involved in this. I want to have a part to play in my future." 

Jen sighed. "I'm sorry, but I really don't think I could handle coming home to have my house invaded with two people from your past." She frowned. "I don't want to have to share my house with your ex-finance, Mic." 

Mic frowned. "Don't be like that, Jen." He checked the time on his wristwatch. "Listen luv, I'm sorry but I have to go. I have to catch a plane in a few hours and I'm completely buggered. I love you." 

Jennifer bit her lip angrily. "Love you too." She said strictly, disconnecting the call.  

Mic turned off his cell phone and tossed it onto the floor beside his bed. The conversation and the goodbye that followed did not go how he had intended. He was sure that Jen would come around and eventually warm to the idea of sharing the same roof as Mac and Harm – if she didn't they'd have to check in at a motel in Rockhampton – some 50 km's away from Callahan. Either way, accommodation arrangements could wait until the following morning. Mic was too tired to care what anyone's opinion on the issue was. He flopped back against his pillow and pulled the doona tightly around him. In minutes he had drifted into a dream filled sleep – the thought of Megan O'Neil's death and his hearing laying heavily on the mind. 

***

THURSDAY 0630 HRS 

**CHRYSLER MOTEL, ROOM 457**

: HARM'S MOTEL ROOM 

Mac purposely let the motel door slam as she entered Harm's room. He was still sound asleep  - or had been before Mac had showed up. He groaned from beneath the doona and a spare pillow. 

"Go away Mac." He said exhausted. "It's too early." 

Mac grinned and dropped her jacket on the table. "It's 0630." She said happily. "If most of Sydney is up, you can be too." She added, walking towards Harm's side of the bed and resting her hands on her hips. "Get up, Harm." 

The pillow shook its head. "I'm not liking your chances of getting me out of bed before 0730.  You can sit and watch me sleep if you want or you could climb in bed with me." 

Mac could imagine the smile on his face but shook it off. "Not likely sailor. Get your six up, have a shower and join me for breakfast before Brumby graces us with his presence." She said, moving towards the window in on the far side of the room and pulling back the curtains to allow the sun of Sydney to flow through.

Harm peeked his head out from the pillow, squinting from the light. "How long have you been up?" he said, silently admitting defeat and moving to get up. 

Mac shrugged and sat down beside him on the bed. "A couple of hours. I've already rung Harriet and had a bit of a chat, I've run 6km, and I've showered and checked out of my room. I decided I'd let you sleep in until six thirty and then you could have some breaky with me. I'm not too enthused with having breakfast with Mic. I think I've already had enough."

Harm smiled flyboy style and sat up to give Mac a quick kiss.  "I think we may have bitten off more that we could chew." He said decisively. 

"Don't we always?" She asked, cocking a brow at him. "It always seems to be the way we operate."

Harm grinned. "I love the way you refer to it as 'we'. What context does that come in exactly?" 

"You should be more concerned when I start referring to us as an 'us'." 

Harm's smiled deflated. He had taken Mac's comment as an insult.  "I should be concerned that you're not referring to us as an 'us'. I thought that's what got us into this mess in the first place." Harm's tone showed the comments effect. 

Mac studied him carefully, trying to read his piercing eyes. "It's just gone six thirty and we're already at this stage of the day." She said, staring at him squarely. 

Harm frowned thoughtfully. "What stage would that be?" 

Mac let an exasperated sigh escape her lips. "The stage where you and I battle it out. We say words in the heat of the moment wanting to make the other pay for the emotions they sparked. Then we walk away, lick our wounds and apologise either when something comes up or we're forced to." She ran a hand through her hair. "Timing never has been on our side." 

Harm's jaw clenched, anger slowly beginning to burn as Mac spoke. It seemed that once things began to happen either one of Mac's speeches or his own cockiness and arrogance got in the way. This time it wasn't his fault. She had brought up 'timing' and that was a signal for disaster. "The only reason time is never on our side is because it's convenient for you to convince us both that it isn't. I don't want the 'timing speech' Mac and I certainly don't want the guilt of having a fight and knowing that what has or hasn't been said can ruin everything. The only reason things never work out between us is because of all the pressure associated with us becoming an 'us'." He replied angrily. "I'm sick of waiting for a world wide signal for us to get together. It's like waiting for everyone's approval before we can make the decision for ourselves. Then the timing speech comes up and we end back at square one." 

Mac moved from the bed, her arms folded tightly against her chest. She was angered by Harm's blame – angered that he had the nerve to blame everything on her. The statement she had made had been simple, had been a joke and certainly wasn't meant to affect the mood as it did. She had to admit, in certain context she did agree with Harm. They would suffer needlessly with the pressure of becoming more than friends. It was how they operated – it was how they worked and it was why it had taken so long for them to reach the next level. The pressure wasn't put on by anyone else in the world, it was entirely their own. 

"You're right." She said softly. "Like you always are Harm. I'm the problem – my speeches and me. I should just throw all my values out the window so that everything is convenient for you. I mean how inconsiderate am I that I deprive you from your needs?" She looked at him angry. "How inconsiderate am I Harm?" 

He tossed back the covers of his bed and got out. "I don't know Mac, why don't we fight about it for a change?" He replied smartly. 

She frowned. "Go to hell. Sometimes you can be such a jerk and I have to wonder why the hell I put myself through this!" 

Harm's eyes flashed. "Well that makes too of us! Now if you'll excuse me, I 'm going to shower." He said, pushing past Mac and grabbing some clothes from his suitcase. 

Mac's eyes followed his movements. "Last night, at the Quay, you said this time you weren't walking away. Is this you not walking away?" 

Harm stopped in his steps and turned around slowly to face her. "Last night, I said I wouldn't back away. There is a difference." 

"Is there? Because to me the meaning is still clear." 

"At least something is Mac. Be thankful there is no 'pushing away'." 

Mac frowned. "I said it once and I'll say it again. Go to hell Harm."  

Harm nodded, even though he didn't agree with the situation. "Fine." He said ignorantly. "Now if you excuse me, I think I'll go and 'lick my wounds'." And with that, he stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door closed. 

         Tears trickled down Mac's face, joining others that had been there for a while. She hadn't noticed during the fight that she had been crying. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself, dried her eyes with the back of her hand and grabbed her jacket from the table. The words said it was over – the emotions and the reality didn't. She guessed that the first fight would sting and feel like salt being rubbed into deep wounds – she had been right. Mac wanted to storm into Harm's bathroom and kick his six but she felt drained and she felt broken. Broken like the many promises they had made each other in the past 6 days of their relationship. Promises of love, life and never walking away. They were broken yes, but they were neither beyond repair nor resurrection and for the time being they would stay hanging in the balance while Mac, like Harm, walked away and licked her wounds from the fight. Harm and Mac would make up or so she hoped. 

         Mac's stomach grumbled and the thought of her breakfast plan returned to her. She gathered Mic's case file from the table and walked towards the door. A working breakfast would make a change from one with Harm – not a nice change she had to admit, but at least the work wouldn't fight back nor make her cry.

***

**THURSDAY 0715 HRS **

**CHRYSLER MOTEL, SYDNEY **

**RESTAURANT, FLOOR ONE**

Mac took a bite out of her third slice of toast and flipped over to the second page of the Callahan Police Department crime scene report. Megan O'Neil had been found strangled to death, brutally enough with her own belt. There had been a sign of a struggle, broken ornaments in the motel room and her possessions scattered everywhere. Apparently no one had heard much, it had been Fight Night down stairs and most locals and the motel residents had been down there cheering on the amateur fighters in the first night of competition. Mac wondered if Mic had attended after leaving Megan's room – maybe that could prove as an alibi, someone would have seen him there. She left the folder, and turned back to her breakfast of orange juice, toast and cereal. Her fight with Harm played in her mind.  Her cell phone began to chime in her jacket pocket. She dropped the toast to the plate and reached for it. 

         "MacKenzie." She answered curtly. 

There was a brief silence of the other line. "Mac? Sorry, is this a bad time?" It was the Admiral.  

"Admiral? Sorry sir. No, the timing is good." For once, she thought angrily. "I was just finishing my breakfast. What can I do for you sir?" 

A.J glanced around his office. "I was just hoping for a chat." He said obviously bored with what work he was doing at JAG. 

Mac smiled. "A chat sir? Are things that dull at headquarters?" 

A.J frowned momentarily. Truth be told, he was extremely bored. Bored of no explosions in the bullpen involving Mac and Harm arguing over another case and completely bored that everything seemed to be normal. Normality was something he liked, something he used craved but that was thrown out the window when he met Harmon Rabb and it never was the same when Sarah Mackenzie came to work at JAG. "Like you wouldn't believe," he chuckled. "I'm trusting you TAD with Rabb and Brumby isn't so uneventful." 

"You can say that again. We haven't even arrived in Callahan and I want to come home. Give me dull headquarters any day – it beats slogging it out day after day with Harm and Mic." 

"Thing's aren't going smoothly?" A.J questioned, frowning. "Between you and Brumby?" 

Mac chuckled. "It seems sir, between me and anyone.  It started with me sleeping in on Monday morning and arriving late for work. The week hasn't been right since." 

"I'm sorry to hear that Colonel. Hopefully you assignment will pick up. Have Commander Brumby and Commander Rabb managed to _damage_ each other yet?" 

"_Damage_ sir?" 

"I was going to say 'kill' but found it a little inappropriate give the situation." He said, secretly hoping for a tale of disturbance.

Mac smiled. "I see. No, there hasn't been any punch throwing, yet. There was a close incident last night but that was fuel by too much to drink in Mic's case and too much ignorance in Harm's. It's going to be a long couple of weeks." 

 "Sure sounds like it. How are you handling the logistics of the case?" he asked, picking up a pen from his desk and twirling it in between his fingers. 

Mac glanced at the file of paperwork on the table. There were still statements, police and investigation reports, an autopsy report and furthermore background information on Major Megan O'Neil and her rocky life to go through. There seemed to be so much red tape and paperwork the file could be mistaken for a collection of hearings.  "I'm getting there. I've yet to sit down and go through _everything_ but I'm sure as soon as I get away from the sights of Sydney I should be fine. The Callahan police have put together a very comprehensive file. The only thing I don't understand is there willingness to give up Mic's Investigation so easily. Why would they suddenly relinquish all power in the case over to JAG?"

"They didn't." A.J replied quickly. "Or in a matter of speaking they _did _but they _didn't_.  I think you'll find that when you get to Callahan you'll both be competing for the same information. Only from what I've heard from Brumby, their hopeful outcome isn't the same as yours."

Mac sighed. "Something to look forward to." She said, disheartened. "Here I was thinking that we could do all the dirty work ourselves and expect co-operation from the authorities there." 

"You probably can – depending on which authorities your talking about Mac. The reason that you and Harm are there to investigate is that Admiral McManus is funding all your expenses. I just approved the TAD – JAG isn't signing for anything. The only role I have in this assignment is to deliver your orders as your CO. Those orders are to investigate the murder of Major Megan O'Neil and prove the innocent of Commander Michael Brumby." 

Mac nodded. "So Mic does have strong support from Admiral McManus?" She asked intrigued as to why Mic's CO would be funding an independent investigation. 

"Strong support isn't the word. He is giving Brumby financial support and emotional support. He believes in Brumby as a good honest officer and a good honest man." He paused.  "He's also Ms. Jennifer Gallagher's step father." 

Mac's mouth dropped accordingly. "I certainly didn't see that coming." She stunned. "Mic didn't mention a thing." 

"Did you expect him to?" he replied, growing bored with the pen and throwing it onto his desk. "Would a revelation like that have made a difference?" 

"No, I guess not." Mac replied honestly, thinking it over. "But it does put things into perspective. How are things really going at JAG?" 

A.J grimaced. "Slow. Turner won a case against Manetti. It sparked a mêlée between them. Had to haul them both into my office." He smiled impertinently. "It rather felt like reprimanding yourself and Harm." 

Mac grinned. "Good to see that we haven't let you down then." Her grinned deflated. "How's Harriet? I spoke to her this morning. She sounded tired and she sounded depressed. Is everything alright?" 

"I'm guessing so, nothing has been mentioned. Meredith had dinner with her last night – I think Harriet needs a shoulder. Considering you're not here – she's trying to make do."

"I see. Well sir, I think I'd better go and round up Mic and Harm considering we have flight to catch and an airport to check in at. Is there anything you want me to pass onto the Commander?" Maybe a beating, she thought to herself. 

"Just that I hope you and he know what you're doing." He said vaguely, although the comment made perfect sense to both of them.  "I would hate for things to get nasty, out of hand and extremely unprofessional." 

         Mac gripped the cell tightly in her hand, feeling a case of irony. "More nasty, out of hand and unprofessional than they already are?"

         A.J frowned. "Is there something I should know about you and Harm? Have you had a fight?" 

         "A fight?" Mac repeated briskly. "Something along the lines of a confrontation, sir. We're not speaking."

          Silence filled the conversation. A.J cleared his throat, and leaned back against his chair. "That could make a rather hard investigation. Hopefully you and the Commander can work that out. I have to go myself, Mac. Good luck Colonel." And he hung up, leaving Mac to her cold and lonely breakfast. 

***


	10. Broken Glass

_AN: Eekk! Many months have passed since my last update. To make up for it, this chapter is very shippery and fluffy. Lol. I couldn't help myself._

**------**

**"Oh here we go again I'm so spent,  
My head is spinning,  
Oh can you bail me out of this rut,  
I've got myself in once again," Bail Me Out, Pete Murray.**

**------__**

**LIFE FOR RENT **

**CHAPTER EIGHT – BROKEN GLASS**

THURSDAY 2000 HRS 

BRUMBY RESIDENCE – CALLAHAN, QUEENSLAND

Mac absentmindedly pulled her suitcase open and began tipping her clothes out across her bed. The day had been long and exhausting and seeking solace she had retreated to the guest bedroom of Brumby's two-storey residence to unpack her things. Mic and Harm as far as she knew, were spread out in the hammocks adoring Mic's back veranda, chatting like long lost friends. She concluded gloomily, that Harm had made an ally. She slowly sifted through the mess she had made, engrossing herself with the task. Maybe, just maybe, if she focused on something boring like her washing, she could get rid of the though of the aviator that was residing down stairs. It didn't work and before long she was throwing the clothing around in irate frustration.

Harm stepped onto the threshold of the second floor and stopped momentarily. From where he stood he could see straight through the open door way of Mac's bedroom and could see her moving heatedly around the room. A wave of guilt flooded thorough him and solemnly he ventured towards the open door of her room.

Mac hadn't noticed Harm in her door way and she continued throwing her clothes across the room like an infuriated child throwing a tantrum. It wasn't doing much for her clean clothes but it was sure helping her to express her emotions. After everything had successfully been thrown on the floor she sighed and breathed in a content breath of fresh air. "There," she muttered to herself. "Mission completed. Doesn't that feel better?"

Harm laugh quietly causing Mac to look his way. She diverted her eyes awkwardly when she noticed who it was. Seeing Mac's displeasure, Harm smiled grimly. "Can I come in?"

Mac's eyes darted around the room looking for an exit. There were two options. Through the door way that Harm was occupying or out through the sliding glass doorway that led out to the second storey veranda. She decided against both options (moving towards Harm would make things too close and moving out on the veranda would trap her even further) and despondently shrugged. "Only if you help me clean up the room I very _maturely_ trashed."

Harm nodded and joined her in picking up the clothing. When the floor was clear of any signs of fabric he moved to the opposite side of the room and took a seat in the armchair to create some distance between them. He opened his mouth to make his apology, but found it was caught in the back of his throat. Closing his mouth, he lowered his attention to the polished wood floor and became engrossed in starring at the grooves the wood made.

Mac watched him over the top of the t-shirt she had been folding. She placed it neatly on the bed and folded her arms across her chest. "Why are you here?" She asked more bluntly than she had intended.

Harm studied her intently wondering if she was still angry with him. The expression on her face said it all. "In Australia?" he asked dully.

"In my room." Mac rolled her eyes. She wasn't in the mood for games.

Harm chewed his lip. "Is it a problem?"

"Are you here to throw further criticism at me?" she asked earnestly. It was a lingering question.

After a while Harm shook his head sincerely. "Mac," he began.

Mac shook her own head. "Don't do that whiny 'Mac' thing Harm. Why are you here?"

Sighing Harm got up from the seat. "You're still angry with me?" It was basically rhetorical. He knew she was.

Mac swallowed hard. "I'm just angry, Harm," she replied vaguely, rubbing her brow in frustration. She was more frustrated with herself than him and she knew it wasn't surfacing well.

Harm frowned; he too was becoming quickly frustrated. "You didn't answer my question."

"And you didn't answer mine!" Mac snapped back before she could stop herself. She sucked in a deep breath and dropped one hand to rest on her hip while the other remained rubbing her brow.

Harm breathed. He couldn't take this anymore. It had tortured him for most of the day. Fighting or rather sparring with Mac used to be a frequent occurrence that they both secretly enjoyed. Now it felt like hell. "I'm sorry Mac. I know it doesn't sound like much but it's all I've got right now."

Mac frowned and moved away from him. "Jesus Harm, can't you ever actually say how you feel or what you're thinking?" Uncontrollable tears pricked at her eyes and she wanted to push him away before he noticed. She heard a tapping on the doorframe, and turned to notice Mic lingering uncomfortable at the door.

"Sorry," he apologise profusely. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

Mac exchanged glances with Harm, waiting for him to answer. Harm took the chance to back down and leave. "No," he said, moving out of the room. "There's nothing more to interrupt," and with that, he trudged down the hallway to his room and slammed the door.

Mic listened as the photograph on the wall of the hallway rattled and dropped to the ground. The glass shattered, spreading thin jagged pieces across the polished wood floor. He grimaced sadly. "I'm guessing this wasn't a good time."

Mac offered him a reassuring smile. "It never is with Harm at the moment. He's dealing with some personal stuff."

Mic raised an eyebrow. He gestured to the tears still on her cheeks. "And you? Is it related?" he pried.

"It could be," Mac replied vaguely. She grimaced. "Sorry, Mic, It's really is-"

"None of my business." He nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I understand. Message received loud and clear."

Mac shakily, rubbed her eyes again. "I didn't mean it like that Mic. I'm sorry." She sighed. "This is really uncomfortable isn't it?"

"It's only going to get worse." He said sympathetically. "If anything I've put you in an uncomfortable situation. I just- just needed some good help. I realise how screwed I am. My defence isn't looking good is it? I don't even need you to answer that, I know for myself. I was recommended a good military lawyer in Canberra but I couldn't have some hotshot I didn't know taking this on." Mic's gaze shifted towards the balcony glass doors. The curtains were open, and from where he stood he could see the rough waves of the ocean rolling in. "I figured if I was going to go down for something I didn't commit, I was going to go down fighting and with a defence I knew and could trust."

Mac took everything in slowly, and sat down on the edge of her bed. "You feel you can trust me? Trust us?" She asked, quietly.

Mic chuckled sadly. "There's a lot of water under the bridge, I'll admit but there is no reason for me not to trust you." He smiled unhappily. "Professionally anyway. I've seen you two work with and against each other. You both know how good you are; you're quite the duo. I need a defence like you on my side."

Mac smiled thankfully. "That's sweet. But you overestimate the teamwork within the 'duo'." She looked at him earnestly. "I'm going to work as hard as I possibly can to uncover this Mic, but there are no promises. I hope you can understand."

"I can," he nodded. "I will. Actually obliging to come Mac, gave me some hope."

"I can't believe you actually asked," she smiled.

Mic laughed. "It was hard, I'll admit. I think AJ nearly died when he heard my voice on the other line."

"You almost gave me a heart attack. Rabb was speechless." She laughed. "You certainly gave us all a shock."

"You should have seen Lieutenant Sims' face as I walked through the bullpen," he reminisced. "Priceless."

Mac suddenly jumped up from her place. "Like your photograph," she gushed, moving swiftly out of the room and into the hallway. Mic followed. They studied the broken glass on the floor and winced as it crunched underneath their feet. "Oh, Mic, I am so sorry."

Mic crouched to pick the frame up off the ground. The photograph was one of him and Jennifer taken at their engagement party. He smiled dejectedly. "Not you're fault, Mac. The frame's replaceable."

Mac crouched at his side. "We'll replace it before we leave."

"We?" he cocked an eyebrow at her.

Mac nodded. "Yeah, we." She smiled.

Mic nodded a smiled on his face. "Well in that case," He gave her a wink. "Everything is explained. Why didn't you say anything? If you're more comfortable in one room-"

"Because," Mac cut off, "It's complicated." She brushed a couple of piece of glass away with her hand and sat down on the floor. "We've been fighting all day. As I'm sure you've noticed." Mac shrugged. "We'll sort it out, it's just-"

"Complicated?" Mic offered.

Mac smiled. "Yeah." She picked up the photograph that had fallen out of the frame. "Are you happy?" she asked candidly. "Are you really truly happy?"

Mic studied the photograph for a long while before replying softly, "At least she loves me."

* * *

THURSDAY 2200 HRS

BRUMBY RESIDENCE, CALLAHAN – QUEENSLAND.

The light from the kitchen danced across the wood decking of the veranda, sending shivers up Mac's spine as she watched it. Mic had gone to bed a while ago, deciding to give Mac some space. They had talked for an hour about things in their lives and what had happened after the night he had left. It was refreshing, that was the only way Mac could describe it. If anything, their tête-à-tête had cleared up some lingering question about Mic's request for help. Mac concluded that it had given light to her situation and given her some motivation to commit to the case as much as she could. She couldn't promise anything with the outcome, but she was as sure as hell going to try.

From the kitchen, Harm idly watched Mac on the veranda sitting in solace and sipping at her coffee. He wanted to join her, pull her into his arms and sit with her as they listened to the waves roll in. He wanted to take the chance to appreciate everything he had but the arrogance in him wouldn't follow his heart. Harm stood watching Mac for a long time. After a while, Mac moved from her chair on the veranda, grabbed her coffee cup and walked back into the kitchen. She smiled warmly at him.

"Hey."

Harm nodded. "Hey yourself, Marine."

Silently. Mac placed the coffee cup in the sink and moved towards Harm. "Can I have a word?"

Harm grimaced. "That's code for 'I'm going to kick your six' isn't it?"

Mac laughed gently at his comment. "No, its more like, 'I'm sorry I hurt you this morning and ignored you for the day, causing you to blow up at me tonight'." She took a deep breath. "I'm pretty good at code huh?"

Harm laughed. "You may be good at it, but you got the wrong one this time. What I think you were looking for was, 'this is all your fault flyboy but I'm going to forgive you and let you make it up to me'."

"I like the 'let you make it up to me' part. What did you have in mind?" she asked impudently.

Harm grinned. "There are a few things," he replied, as Mac moved ever so slowly closer.

"And they are?"

"You're killing me," he breathed, still watching her.

"Really?" There was a good metre separating them.

"Mac," he breathed. There were only a few inches separating them.

"What have I told you about that whiny 'Mac' thing?" she whispered softly.

Harm shrugged and pulled her closer. "At the moment, everything that happened today had left my mind," he whispered on her lips.

Mac grinned. "Good." She replied, finally leaning in and kissing him passionately. "I need you to concentrate on only me."

Harm reached up to caress her cheek. "That's not difficult MacKenzie, Not difficult at all."

* * *

THURSDAY 0400 HRS

WASHINGTON, DC.

Jennifer Gallagher awoke with a start and sweat dripping from her forehead. She glanced around disorientated, trying to work out where she was. She sucked down a mouthful of air, trying to stop the bile from rising in the back of her throat. Reaching out towards the bedside table of her room, she grabbed hold of her glass of water and gulped it down. Her breathing slowed to normal and she closed her eyes, recalling the nightmare. It had been about Megan O'Neil. Not wanting to go through it again by herself, Jen decided to call the one person she could trust with the nightmares. She sucked in another mouthful of air and dried her eyes. She pushed the covers of her bed back and grabbed her cell phone, making her way towards the living area of her room. Hesitantly she turned it on, and checked the address book for her psychologist. Closing her eyes she made the call. The call rang out and was diverted to an answering machine.

"Hi. This is the office of Doctor Lauren Bradshaw. I'm unable to take you're call right now, but please leave a message and I'll get right back to you."

Jennifer signed distraughtly. "Dr. Bradshaw, It's-" she hesitated. "It's Jen Gallagher. You said if I thought of anything else to give you a call." She drew in another shaky breath. "I have and I think that you should know about it."

* * *

FRIDAY 0800HRS

BRUMBY RESIDENCE, CALLAHAN - QUEENSLAND

"Sleep well?" Brumby greeted Mac, walking to the kitchen the following morning.

Mac choked on her orange juice and spat the mouthful down the sink. She wiped her mouth coolly and placed the glass on the bench. "Why?"

Mic shrugged. He studied her intently. "Should there be a reason for me to not be a considerate host?" he asked suspiciously, beginning to fix himself breakfast.

Mac rolled her eyes. "Moving on – I received a phone call from Admiral McManus while you were in the shower. He's asked Harm and I to meet with him this morning. Does that mean anything to you?"

Mic shrugged as he filled his bowl of cereal with milk. "Not particular. Probably wondering what to what cause his well earned money is paying for."

"If you don't mind me asking, what's the story behind that?"

Mic grimaced. "He's looking after his darling stepdaughters best interests. I have no problems in admitting that whatever Jennifer wants, McManus provides." He shoved a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "Hell, this house was our wedding gift."

Mac glanced around. "Impressive. Was he your CO before you met Jennifer?"

"Yes. Now that's an interesting story," he replied, through yet another mouthful of fruit loops.

Mac chuckled. "One we can save for another day."

"What did the Admiral say when he contacted you?"

"That he was expecting us to oblige to a meeting at 0845. That's about it. I was just curious."

"Curious about what?" Harm asked joining the conversation as he stepped into the kitchen.

"We have a meeting with Admiral McManus in 45 minutes."

Harm nodded. "Good, while we're there we can drop in on Lieutenant Colonel Williams."

This time Mic choked on his breakfast. "You're interviewing Williams?"

Harm looked at him blankly. "To a degree yes. Is there a problem with that?"

Mic stirred his cereal vaguely. "Well he's not going to actually help with my defence."

Mac studied him questionably tilting her head at him. "How so?"

Mic sighed. "Long story. To get to the point, Williams believes that I was having an affair with his wife."

Harm rubbed his eyes and grabbed a seat on the stool at the breakfast bar. "Is there any reason for him to suspect that you were?"

Mic frowned at him. "Are you trying to ask me if I was having an affair with Megan?"

Harm shrugged. "Not trying. I am asking."

Mac rolled her eyes and shifted her feet restlessly. If possible, their attitudes towards each other were getting worse. "I believe we've been through this Harm."

"I'm asking for the sake of Mic's defence Mac," he replied seriously.

Mac threw her hands up in her air and moved away from the firing line.

"I'm with Mac, you asked me this in Sydney Rabb. You think my answer has changed in a day?" Mic fought.

Harm breathed in a deep breath. He stared at Mic seriously as a reply.

Mic frowned. "No. For the record, I was not involved with Megan O'Neil, ever during the period of our friendship."

"Did Major O'Neil want that to change? Is that why you were in her hotel room on the night of her murder?" Harm asked diplomatically.

Mac watched intently, waiting for the answer. Mic once again, drew in a deep breath. He placed his bowl on the counter and folded his arms against his chest. "Rabb, you sure as hell can get under my skin."

Harm frowned. "I'm being completely serious, Mic."

"I don't doubt that," Mic fired back. "Yes. Megan made certain advancements that night in her hotel room. We were both intoxicated but I was sensible enough to make it clear that nothing was going to happen. She started yelling at me, I can't remember what was said but she got quite abusive. Something about leaving her husband for me." Mic shook his head exasperated. "I knew she was lying. Williams had left her. I couldn't take it anymore so I left. That was the last time I saw here. She told me to go to hell."

Mac gulped. She was put off by the same words she had used to push Harm away the previous morning. "Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

Mic frowned. "Would you believe me if I said that it never came up?"

"No," was Harm's direct answer.

Mic looked directly at Mac. "It was complicated."

* * *

FRIDAY 0830 HRS

CALLAHAN MILITARY BASE – CALLAHAN, QUEENSLAND.

Harm drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he pulled to a stop in front of the security gates at the base. He looked over at Mac in the passenger seat.

"You've sure made an ally for yourself. What's the story behind that?" He asked.

Mac grinned. "Why, you getting a little jealous?"

Harm shrugged. "About you and Mic getting along so well? Just a little. I don't think you would be impressed if Renee suddenly turned up and her and I struck up a great friendship."

Mac laughed. "I can't believe after everything we talked about you are getting jealous of Mic Brumby. You're so-"

Harm breathed. "Here we go-"

"Cute." Mac laughed.

Harm looked at her unimpressed. "I'll pretend you just said handsome and damn sexy. That way I can still maintain my dignity," he replied, winding down his window and easing Brumby's red Ford Escape towards the security booth. Mac continued to laugh at him.

A Private greeted them at the booth. "Morning, sir, can I help you?"

Harm nodded. "We have a meeting with Admiral McManus for 0845."

The Private quickly ran his eyes down the security schedule for the day. "Commander Rabb and Colonel Mackenzie?"

Harm nodded. The Private quickly made a note next to their name. "Can I see some I.D sir?"

Harm pulled it from his wallet. The Private nodded. "JAG Corp." He said, smiling. "Impressive."

"How so?" Harm asked, handing over Mac's I.D.

The Private smiled sheepishly. "This is a training base Sir. It's not everyday that the likes of JAG walk on site." He handed Mac's I.D back and turned to his accompanying officer. "Let them through." The security barrier went up and the private motioned them through. "Parking is to the right, administration to the left. Good day Commander, Colonel."

Harm nodded a thank you to the Private; handed Mac's I.D back to her and wound up his window. "That would have to be one of the first times someone's been impressed to see us," he comment, eyebrow raised.

Mac smiled. "No arguments here," she replied as Harm swung the SUV into a parking space. They got out of the car, locked it and made their way towards the administration. Harm and Mac waited a good 10 minutes in the foyer before they were greeted by Sergent McRae who bustled in from the corridor of offices adjoining the building. She smiled at them as she placed a large pile of paperwork on her desk.

"Sir, Ma'am. What can I do for you?"

Mac smiled kindly. "We have an appointment with Admiral McManus."

Sergent McRae nodded. "Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie?" She asked happily. "Admiral McManus has been expecting you. Excuse me for a second," she finished, bustling off back up the corridor. A couple of minutes later she returned. "Follow me, Sir, Ma'am."

Harm and Mac followed her down the long corridor before coming to a stop in front of dark mahogany door. Sergent McRae knocked and opened the door. "Admiral McManus, Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie to see you sir."

Admiral McManus, a dark hair man in his mid-fifties, looked up from a book he was reading. He nodded. "Send them in McRae."

McRae nodded respectfully and moved out of the way for Harm and Mac to enter. She closed the door behind them and returned to her desk in the front office. McManus rose from his chair as Harm and Mac entered. They made their way towards their desk and routinely stood at attention. McManus waved then down. He turned to Mac. "Colonel Mackenzie," he said shaking her hand. Smiling he turned to Harm and shook his hand also. "And Commander Rabb. I've heard a lot about you," he said motioning for them to take a seat. "You're quite a legendary duo. I've heard many stories from Commander Brumby."

Mac laughed nervously. "All good I hope."

McManus smiled and nodded. "Of course." He faced both of them. 'I'm guessing you're wondering why I've asked you to meet me."

"Something along those lines, Sir." Harm admitted.

"To be frank, Commander, Colonel, it's for an entirely self-serving reason. I want you to know that the interests of Commander Michael Brumby are high on my priority list right now. Whatever you need to ensure that you find the person who murdered Major O'Neil is at your disposal."

Mac nodded. "Thank you sir. We will be taking you up on that offer."

McManus smiled. "Oh?"

"We were hoping for your full co-operation sir."

"Whatever you need. No cost will be spared." He sighed. "Is there anything you need to be organised straight away?"

Harm and Mac looked at each other. "We were wondering if you could pin point the whereabouts of Lieutenant Colonel Adam Williams, sir. He's the first cab off the rank so to speak."

McManus nodded. "Colonel Williams is widely known for dedicating his time to the mechanics department. That's located on the west side of the base. I take it you wish to talk to him while you are here now?"

Harm nodded. "Yes, Sir."

McManus nodded approval. "Granted. I'll have a private escort you over there on your way out."

"Thank you sir."

McManus nodded. "Dismissed."


End file.
